Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29402323›Full record

ArticleCardiovascular ultrasound2018

Equivocal tests after contrast stress-echocardiography compared with invasive coronary angiography or with CT angiography: CT calcium score in mildly positive tests may spare unnecessary coronary angiograms.

Nicola Gaibazzi, Guido Pastorini, Andrea Biagi, Francesco Tafuni, Claudia Buffa, Silvia Garibaldi, Francesca Boffetti, Giorgio Benatti

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Cardiovascular ultrasound, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
0.5field-weighted citation impact, top 33% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed, 3 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Nicola GaibazziDepartment of Cardiology, Parma University Hospital, Via Gramsci 14, 43123, Parma, Italy. ngaibazzi@gmail.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2207-3388
Guido PastoriniDepartment of Cardiology, Parma University Hospital, Via Gramsci 14, 43123, Parma, Italy.
Andrea BiagiDepartment of Cardiology, Parma University Hospital, Via Gramsci 14, 43123, Parma, Italy.
Francesco TafuniDepartment of Cardiology, Parma University Hospital, Via Gramsci 14, 43123, Parma, Italy.
Claudia BuffaDepartment of Cardiology, Parma University Hospital, Via Gramsci 14, 43123, Parma, Italy.
Silvia GaribaldiDepartment of Cardiology, Parma University Hospital, Via Gramsci 14, 43123, Parma, Italy.
Francesca BoffettiDepartment of Cardiology, Parma University Hospital, Via Gramsci 14, 43123, Parma, Italy.
Giorgio BenattiDepartment of Cardiology, Parma University Hospital, Via Gramsci 14, 43123, Parma, Italy.
University of Parma · IT

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundImaging stress tests are not ideally accurate to predict anatomically obstructive CAD, leading to a non-trivial rate of unnecessary iCA. This may depend on the threshold used to indicate iCA, and maybe CTA or, one step earlier, CT calcium score could spare most unnecessary iCA in only mildly positive cSE. We assessed the diagnostic accuracy of contrast stress-echocardiography (cSE) in comparison with invasive coronary angiography (iCA), and CT angiography (CTA) only in case of equivocal tests, to find hints helping reduce falsely positive cSE in the suspicion of coronary artery disease (CAD).

methodsPatients who were indicated cSE for suspected CAD between 2012 and 2016, who also underwent iCA were selected and diagnostic results compared. A second group, specifically with equivocal cSE who underwent CTA was also analyzed.

results137 subjects with equivocal cSE and CTA and 314 with cSE (any result) and iCA were selected. In the CTA-equivocal cSE group, an Agatston score < 105 and a coronary flow reserve (CFR-LAD) <1.7 had very high negative predictive value (99%, 92% respectively) to exclude obstructive CAD. The Agatston score was the most significant incremental predictor of CAD beyond clinical variables (chi square 31 to 47, p < 0.001). In the iCA group a more-than-mild reversible wall motion abnormality (WMA) demonstrated high positive predictive value for CAD (89%), while CFR-LAD appeared less useful. More-than-mild reversible WMA was the most significant predictor of CAD beyond clinical variables (chi square 37.5 to 56, p < 0.001).

conclusionsOur data suggest iCA should be indicated only for more-than-mild reversible WMA at cSE, due to the very high positive predictive value for CAD of this finding, while mildly positive tests should be shifted to non-invasive CT, with CTA performed only for coronary calcium Agatston score > 100, since lower scores demonstrated very high negative predictive value for CAD, not justifying proceeding to CTA and even less to iCA.

Indexed as

Computed Tomography AngiographyCoronary AngiographyEchocardiography, StressAgedCoronary Artery DiseaseCoronary VesselsExercise TestFalse Positive ReactionsFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedPredictive Value of TestsRetrospective StudiesVascular CalcificationComputed tomography angiographyCoronary artery diseaseEquivocal testsStress-echocardiography

Identifiers

PMID29402323
PMCPMC5800005
OpenAlexW2783547187

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.