Comparison between three-dimensional angiographic reconstruction and intravascular ultrasound: Imaging of the left main coronary artery

Objectives The purpose of this study was to evaluate the left main (LM) coronary artery anatomy using three-dimensional (3D) quantitative coronary angiography (QCA) software as compared to intravascular ultrasound (IVUS). Background Percutaneous intervention of the LM coronary artery is becoming more common in selected patients with LM coronary artery disease (CAD). Quantification of LM CAD by conventional angiography can be difficult. IVUS is considered the gold standard to evaluate LM anatomy and severity of CAD but entails additional steps, catheters, and expertise. Our objective was to compare a novel quantitative angiographic analysis system with IVUS for LM anatomy. Methods Fifty five patients underwent both coronary angiography and IVUS of the LM. LM measurements were analyzed with 3D QCA (IC-PRO, Paieon, Israel) software using IVUS as the reference standard. The measurements included proximal, middle, distal minimal luminal diameter (MLD) and area. Additionally, lesion MLD, minimal luminal area were recorded by both systems. Bland-Altman plots were used to investigate agreement between the two imaging systems. Results Of the 55 patients in our cohort, average age was 66 ± 11 years (25% female). By Bland-Altman analysis there was very good agreement between 3D QCA and IVUS for measures of MLD and minimal lumen area (MLA). However, there was poor concordance in the estimation of plaque burden between the two methods. Conclusions Our data demonstrate that 3D QCA software has fair agreement when compared with IVUS for imaging of LM MLD and MLA. These results suggest that 3D QCA could potentially be helpful to guide intervention of the LM.