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Dobutamine stress tagging and gradient-echo imaging for detection of coronary heart disease at 3 T

D Thomas1, C Meyer, K Strach

  • 1Department of Radiology, University of Bonn, Germany. daniel.thomas@ukb.uni-bonn.de

The British Journal of Radiology
|October 21, 2010
PubMed

Insights

A combined spoiled gradient-echo (sGRE) and tagged gradient-echo (SPAMM-GRE) protocol is feasible for detecting coronary artery disease (CAD) during high-dose dobutamine stress. This combined approach enhances diagnostic accuracy and sensitivity for identifying wall motion abnormalities.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiovascular Imaging
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Background:

  • Coronary artery disease (CAD) diagnosis relies on accurate stress testing.
  • High-dose dobutamine stress magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a key diagnostic tool.
  • Optimizing MRI protocols can improve the detection of CAD.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To assess the feasibility and diagnostic accuracy of a combined spoiled gradient-echo (sGRE) and tagged gradient-echo (SPAMM-GRE) MRI protocol.
  • To evaluate this protocol for detecting coronary artery disease (CAD) during high-dose dobutamine stress at 3 Tesla (3 T).

Main Methods:

  • A standard high-dose dobutamine stress protocol was used.
  • Image quality and diagnostic accuracy of sGRE and SPAMM-GRE sequences were compared in 37 patients.
  • The study was approved by the local ethics committee.

Main Results:

  • Mean image quality scores were comparable between sGRE (2.6±0.6) and SPAMM-GRE (2.4±0.6) sequences (p>0.05).
  • Diagnostic accuracy for sGRE was 0.84 (sensitivity 0.81, specificity 0.86), and for SPAMM-GRE was 0.86 (sensitivity 0.88, specificity 0.86).
  • Tagged sequences detected new wall motion abnormalities (WMAs) at lower stress levels compared to sGRE alone in three cases.

Conclusions:

  • The combined sGRE and SPAMM-GRE protocol is feasible and accurate for high-dose dobutamine stress testing at 3 T.
  • Cardiac tagging improves sensitivity for CAD detection and may identify WMAs earlier in the stress test.
  • This combined protocol offers enhanced diagnostic capabilities for coronary artery disease.
Abstract

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