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National trends among radiologists in reporting coronary artery calcium in non-gated chest computed tomography

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Abstract

Coronary artery calcification (CAC) is a known risk factor for adverse outcomes in the general population and in patients with coronary artery disease. We performed a survey of United States radiologists to evaluate the trends in reporting the presence or absence of CAC on NCCT examinations. An 11 multiple-choice questionnaire was distributed to members of the American College of Radiology, and 530 members participated in the study. Eighty-seven percent of the analyzed group report the presence of CAC on standard CT scans of the chest, and approximately half them (52 %) use a qualitative modifier. Only 32 % of cardiac imagers were aware of the published data correlating qualitative and quantitative calcium scores on non-gated chest CT examinations compared to 17 % of non-cardiac imagers. We believe that subjective or objective grading of coronary calcified plaque burden on standard chest CT exams is warranted as it may not only help risk-stratify patients, but also may eliminate the need for dedicated CACS in many patients and may be useful in treatment guidance.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the North American Society for Cardiovascular Imaging staff for their help with the distribution of the survey as well as Dr. Ayat Mesilhy for her assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cleveland Clinic Florida, Weston, FL, USA

    Jacobo Kirsch, Felipe Martinez, David Lopez, Gian M. Novaro & Craig R. Asher

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  1. Jacobo Kirsch
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  2. Felipe Martinez
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  3. David Lopez
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  4. Gian M. Novaro
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  5. Craig R. Asher
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Correspondence to Jacobo Kirsch.

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This article does not contain any studies with human participants performed by any of the authors.

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Kirsch, J., Martinez, F., Lopez, D. et al. National trends among radiologists in reporting coronary artery calcium in non-gated chest computed tomography. Int J Cardiovasc Imaging 33, 251–257 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10554-016-0986-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10554-016-0986-x

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