Evaluation of left ventricular function using volumetric computed tomography in the clinical setting

Objective: To correlate the left ventricular parameters obtained with 64-slice Volumetric Computed Tomography (VCT) with those obtained with the reference standard, cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging. Methods: VCT and a 3.0 T MRI scanner were used. Results from both studies were independently evaluated by two cardiologists. A linear correlation and a paired Student’s t test were used to analyze the data with a P < 0.05 being considered significant. Results: Thirty consecutive patients were evaluated with VCT and CMR. The left ventricular indices for CMR and VCT were, respectively, mass 86.4 ± 25.8 vs. 82.7 ± 27.6 g (P = 0.31); ESV 45.5 ± 27.8 vs. 48.7 ± 40.4 ml (P = .405); EDV 101.3 ± 32.7 vs. 105.1 ± 44.0 ml (P = 0.475); SV 55.9 ± 16.1 vs. 56.8 ± 15.6 ml (P = 0.713); LVEF 57.5 ± 13.2% vs. 56.9 ± 12.4% (P = 0.630). No differences in intraobserver variability for both methods were found, CT r = 0.96, r² = 0.92 P < 0.0001 and MR r = 0.96 r² = 0.93 P < 0.0001. There was no significant statistical difference in the presence of artifacts. Conclusion: There is a close correlation between CMRI and VCT in the evaluation of LV function. VCT is as useful as 3 T CMR, and could be incorporated as another resource for evaluating LV function.