Quantitative Assessment of Coronary Plaques by Coronary CT Angiography: High Inter-Reader and Intra-Reader Agreement is Achieved but Inter-Scanner Variability should not be Ignored

Abstract

This editorial discusses a recent paper published in the December issue of Radiology 2016
on the quantitative assessment of coronary plaques by coronary computed tomography (CT)
angiography. Three main findings are discussed in the editorial: First, coronary CT angiography
is an accurate imaging modality for analysis of plaque volume as well as monitoring volume
change, with excellent inter- and intra-reader agreement with use of the state-of-the-art CT
scanners. Second, the reliability of coronary CT angiography is noticed for low scan variability
when plaque volume assessment is performed with the same vendor, but with high variability
of nearly 30% when assessment is conducted with different vendors at baseline and follow-up
scans. Finally, a large sample size is required to assess non-calcified plaques, in particular with
use of different vendors.