[Value of dobutamine technetium-99m-MIBI SPECT in detecting coronary artery disease]

The value of dobutamine 99mTc-MIBI SPECT (Dobu-ECT) for detecting coronary artery disease (CAD) was assessed in 39 patients. Compared with coronary angiography, the overall sensitivity and specificity of Dobu-ECT for detecting CAD were 92.9% and 90.9%. Of 13 patients with CAD without myocardial infarction, the sensitivity of Dobu-ECT was 84.6%. In detecting CAD with single, double or triple vessel diseases, the sensitivity of Dobu-ECT was 90.9%, 87.5% and 100% respectively. Furthermore, 88.2% of the patients (15/17) with multivessel (two or three vessels) diseases were correctly identified as having multivessel involvement. For detecting CAD, the sensitivity and specificity of dobutamine ECG were 53.5% and 82%. No serious side effects were observed in the study. The results showed that Dobu-ECT is a feasibie, safe and noninvasive method for diagnosing CAD.