Coronary computed tomography angiography for selecting coronary artery bypass graft surgery candidates

There have been limited reports on the diagnostic performance and prognostic value of coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) for selecting coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) candidates.

There were 1,018 patients with suspected coronary artery disease who underwent 64-slice multidetector CCTA between July 2009 and January 2010. Of them, we excluded 324 patients who denied further treatment (n=7), who were lost for unidentified reasons (n=107), or who were transferred to local clinics (n=210). The total analysis cohort consisted of 694 patients. We established eligible CABG criteria defined as three-vessel disease, left main coronary disease, and left main coronary artery equivalent disease. Diagnostic performance was determined using conventional coronary angiography as the reference standard. For assessment of the prognostic utility of CCTA, electronic medical records were reviewed to screen for the occurrence of a major adverse cardiac event, defined as cardiac death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, or revascularization.

The overall sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of CCTA for the selection of CABG candidates were 83.3%, 96.2%, 90.9%, and 92.7%, respectively. The presence of CABG criteria on CCTA was an independent prognostic factor for predicting a major adverse cardiac event (hazard ratio, 12.508; 95% confidence interval, 7.353 to 21.278; p<0.0001).

We found CCTA had a high diagnostic performance for selecting CABG candidates and predicted major adverse cardiac events in CABG candidates referred for CCTA owing to suspected coronary artery disease.