Open Access

ARTICLE

Fused cardiac hybrid imaging with coronary computed tomography angiography and positron emission tomography in patients with complex coronary artery anomalies

Christoph Gräni, Dominik C. Benz, Mathias Possner, Olivier F. Clerc, Fran Mikulicic, Jan Vontobel, Julia Stehli, Tobias A. Fuchs, Aju P. Pazhenkottil, Oliver Gaemperli, Philipp A. Kaufmann, Ronny R. Buechel

Department of Nuclear Medicine, Cardiac Imaging, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

* Corresponding Author: Ronny R. Buechel, Cardiac Imaging, Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Zurich, Ramistrasse 100, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland. Email: Christoph Gr€ani and Dominik C. Benz share the first authorship.

Congenital Heart Disease 2017, 12(1), 49-57.

Abstract

Objective: To provide data on the value of fused cardiac hybrid imaging with coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) and positron emission tomography myocardial perfusion imaging (PET-MPI) in patients with complex coronary artery anomalies (CCAA).
Design/setting: This is a retrospective, single-center study.
Patients: Seven consecutive patients with CCAA (mean 57 ± 7 y, 86% were male) who underwent clinically indicated hybrid CCTA/PET-MPI between 2005 and 2015 in our clinic were included. The findings from both modalities and fused cardiac hybrid imaging were evaluated in these patients.
Results: Out of the seven patients with CCAA, two patients had Bland–White–Garland anomaly, two patients showed a coronary artery fistula, two patients showed a “single right,” and one patient showed a “single left” coronary artery. Semiquantitative fused hybrid CCTA/PET-MPI depicted inferolateral scar matching the territory of a nonanomalous vessel with significant concomitant coronary artery disease (CAD) in one patient only. In contrast, analysis of quantitative myocardial blood flow (MBF) as assessed by fused hybrid CCTA/PET-MPI revealed abnormally reduced flow capacities in the territories subtended by the anomalous vessels in 4 patients.
Conclusions: In this case series of middle-aged patients with CCAA, perfusion defects as assessed by semiquantitative PET-MPI were rare and attributable to concomitant CAD rather than to the anomalous vessel itself. By contrast, impaired MBF as assessed by quantitative hybrid CCTA/PET-MPI was revealed in the majority of patients in the vessel territories subtended by the anomalous coronary artery itself. Fused hybrid CCTA/PET-MPI incorporating information on morphology and on semiquantitative and quantitative myocardial perfusions may provide added value for the management of patients with CCAA.

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