[Coronary computed tomography in the clinical arena. Recent evidence and future perspectives].
Journal:
Giornale italiano di cardiologia (2006)
PMID:
40292505
Abstract
In the past few years, computed tomography coronary angiography (CTCA) has rapidly become a widely used diagnostic tool in several clinical settings and is recommended by the European guidelines with a high degree of recommendation in patients with suspected coronary artery disease. The rapid accumulation of evidence is tumultuous and clinical use has grown in parallel with the possibility of offering significant advantages in many areas. Today, CTCA is used both in the diagnosis of low-risk chest pain in emergency departments and in the recognition and prognostic assessment of stable coronary artery disease. By identifying the presence, extent, and quality of atherosclerotic disease, CTCA today offers an important tool for the identification of the disease, promoting the best therapeutic choices with significant prognostic implications, a high safety profile and potentially significant savings in resources. New applications and evidence are accumulating thanks to the marriage of CTCA with artificial intelligence. Alongside increasing accuracy, new risk markers have been identified that enrich the informative content of this method. This review reports the most significant studies that have marked this path so far.