Combined stress myocardial CT perfusion and coronary CT angiography as a feasible strategy among patients presenting with acute chest pain to the emergency department

Background: A combined approach of myocardial CT perfusion (CTP) with coronary CT angiography (CTA) was shown to have better diagnostic accuracy than coronary CTA alone. However, data on cost benefits and length of stay when compared to other perfusion imaging modalities has not been evaluated. Therefore, we aim to perform a feasibility study to assess direct costs and length of stay of a combined stress CTP/CTA and use SPECT myocardial perfusion imaging (SPECT-MPI) as a benchmark, among chest pain patients at intermediate-risk for acute coronary syndrome (ACS) presenting to the emergency department (ED). Methods: This is a prospective two-arm clinical trial (NCT02538861) with 43 patients enrolled in stress CTP/CTA arm (General Electric Revolution CT) and 102 in SPECT-MPI arm. Mean age of the study population was 65 +/- 12 years; 56% were men. We used multivariable linear regression analysis to compare length of stay and direct costs between the two modalities. Results: Overall, 9 out of the 43 patients (21%) with CTP/CTA testing had an abnormal test. Of these 9 patients, 7 patients underwent invasive coronary angiography and 6 patients were found to have obstructive coronary artery disease. Normal CTP/CTA test was found in 34 patients (79%), who were discharged home and all patients were free of major adverse cardiac events at 30 days. The mean length of stay was significantly shorter by 28% (mean difference: 14.7 h; 95% CI: 0.7, 21) among stress CTP/CTA (20 h [IQR: 16, 37]) compared to SPECT-MPI (30 h [IQR: 19, 44.5]). Mean direct costs were significantly lower by 44% (mean difference: $1535; 95% CI: 987, 2082) among stress CTA/CTP ($1750 [IQR: 1474, 2114] compared to SPECT-MPI ($2837 [IQR: 2491, 3554]). Conclusion: Combined stress CTP/CTA is a feasible strategy for evaluation of chest pain patients presenting to ED at intermediate-risk for ACS and has the potential to lead to shorter length of stay and lower direct costs.

Automated summary

Combined stress CTP/CTA is a feasible strategy for evaluating chest pain patients at intermediate-risk for ACS, leading to shorter length of stay and lower direct costs.