Comparison of the Diagnostic Accuracy of PET and SPECT for Coronary Artery Disease

Abstract Noninvasive assessment with a technique such as single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) or positron emission tomography (PET) myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) is common and appropriate before coronary angiography to define coronary anatomy. The diagnostic accuracy of these techniques has been extensively studied with over well over 100 publications reporting the sensitivity, specificity, area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, and diagnostic odds ratio for identifying coronary artery disease with both of them throughout their evolution. Meta-analytic techniques have emerged to combine diagnostic accuracy studies while retaining the 2-dimensional value of sensitivity and specificity data. Recent diagnostic accuracy meta-analyses estimated sensitivity and specificity for SPECT for coronary artery disease at 85 %–88 % and 76 %–85 %, respectively, and the corresponding values for PET at 90 %–92 % and 81 %–88 %. These meta-analytic estimates will be reviewed along with areas of ongoing work with myocardial blood flow measurement and hybrid SPECT/CT and PET/CT imaging systems that will continue improve the diagnostic performance of nuclear techniques.
Source: Current Cardiovascular Imaging Reports - Category: Radiology Source Type: research