Survey
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
JACC Vd.23. Na 5 April 19949016-32 1016 Technetium-99m Sestamibi Myocardial Perfusion Imaging in the Emergency Room Evaluation of Chest Pain THOMAS C. HILTON, MD, FACC, RANDALL C . THOMPSON, MD, FACC, HUGH J. WILLIAMS, MD . ROBERT SAYLORS, DO, HOLLY FULMER, RN . STEPHEN A . STOWERS, MD. FACC kromile, Fh 1da Olijeriiws. The prpew d Ws iiveuIIga&a woo toewAssk tie practicality d eiortdam predictive value otwo lgecmdW pevlliam he" with kdmedoaofm dmlbl in mcpsey room patient' win typkd angles and a normal ar aenRgamtk dedromrdbpm (EGG). Bahglveed. Aemraq d merpaey swam tans PRIM amen meat may be Improved when clinical and ECG vselhke an meal h Conjunction wide Mite *d1mmj 1 mpesmdY peefhtiw Imaging. Tedmedmrfpm amadhi k a see, nallobdoper tied Is taros up by de myoarBam is pmpseka to Well flew, let mpka tallmrd01, it raWhiwtm slangy dam lejeetla .. TeehrethmJ9mamtdbi mm dm be Injected dmhp they pair, d bop agahad I to 2 h hear (when peeress have been diulenI r.bawa) will cedrm whether aha .einnl w ofpers des were present at tier times of hidecdon . dhdmde. One hie,d ed two a gall room patients win typical mom (on the book d ∎ standardised lyha gnmehsmire) and ∎ normal er needhpedle ECG Wd a hdiadm *m seeIMrill y)adkn durbrg gmphms sail wen fellewad ap fw oeasresa of .dean cardiac a In (svdae dWk osnfaW myeewdal iduedon, "now molopleer am" surgery or B-7 dremin(yeY). Read,. tralvalaet prod oss d cardiac crab metal d de peaeam d three or mew cwan ry room Bean (p - 0.009, elk ratio 3.g mad as damormal or ogahoml sec tdtm ilinumm ramlbi nma (p =1.d01, risk ratio 131) . M.Blvmide wpwdm ambeis Identified r ahnmd peetedm range m lie 6dy hdepmded pride dadvmn madiae crew (Illm 0Aflf). Of 78 patiar win a am" pflde . roa, only 1 lad a madjust eras ampmed web is prisms Wish equip d area a 17 pad" will alaonsid ova, wed a cardiac treat sets of 1390 sad 71%, respectively (p - L11111161). Cam/ata. Initial nyecaril perfusion Im{hg with amlmdk.Alm .rbmibi when qipile h emmpaq ram pr tame we gpkd won d ∎ aoomeI or amdkpmWr Et G missiles to be bb* aonnrate le dkffmuMbg' law said Wills IM sabjects. G As Cai (adW 1f9dd3:1Nd-22) The emergency room evaluation of chest pain is a frequent and troublesome problem. Accurate evaluation is made difficult by the low specificity of standard clinical and electrocardiograpihic (ECG) variables (1-3) . The come qucnccs of inappropriate emergency room discharge of patients with true myocardial Infarction may be serious (4,5). Thus, most physicians practice a conservative admission policy that results in a high Ievel of intensive can admissions of patients with noncardiac chest pain (6 .7). Previous studies have used computer algorithms (8,9), two-dlcleeaional echocardiography (10,11), thalium-201 (121s) and technodum-PPm sesteodbi (16-22) to improve diagnos. to accuracy and risk assessment . However, most studies have used broad inclusion criteria . Including patients with typical or mypkelchest pain and with dkgnosdcor andisgnostic ECGs. TechmduntA9m sedmlbi is a new rialkhosop that Is take . up by die myocardium in proportion to blood flow . It has a prolonged retention in the myocardium and redkblbwes minimally after injection (23). That, teclmdism-9m cam& Can be i*cted wide patina are acutely symptomatic . and losses acquked 1 to 2 h later (when pelican have been c iniealy stabilised) Will mission whether Profusion ebnorms4 irks were posed at the time of itdection (16-18), In the current Investigation, we sought to determine whether acute myocardial peAbdon imaging with technetium-99m seaamibi could accurately distinguish between low and high risk emergency room patients with typical aopm and a normal or nondiagoaic I;CO. Additionally, we sought to assess what if any incremental predictive inn emation was provided by initial technetium-99m seitkmibi imaging compared with combinations of clinical and ECG variables . F. the Dammed d Nudew Cudiol y. SI . Luke's Hogdel, leekrov9Ia FWW . TN. eddy *as supposed in pays by g ma fine Do post Mack Pbuuaeudcol Cmpmy. Npah BBWWWce. Msemcauatswd Syocw Rad9.phaymar,med aee.oy, Chtoweab . Csetea Mmsmpt received Apt 29 .1990; revised osnnaipl received NovemW ber 22, 1M. accepted December 1 . 1993. Add,.re her n..~.emd•"es : Dr. 7be,ew C. ohm, 4105 Bdfon Rod, Suite 2065 . Jackmav0a. Florida 32216 . 01994 by the Apraicm Cauea orCwaiokw Methods Patient selection. The study group comprised 102 patients seen in the emergency room for evaluation of ongoing agirmaike chest pain who had a normal or nondiagrwstic 5735 .10978M.00 3ACC yd .23, N.. 5 As s tm:lcls-n TE[m1ET70M.99M 12-lead ECG and underwent acute technetium-99m sestamihi imaging . Technetium-tpm sestamibi imaging was performed when requested by the referring physician for clinical reasons. Chest pain was semigimntilatirely analyzed using a modification of a previously validated chest pain score (24) (see Appendix) and only patients with typical angina pectoris (prospectively defined as a chest pain score a4) were included. Patients were not included if there was historical or ECG evidence of previous myocardial idarction . Patients with atypical chest pain, ECG evidence of ischemia (ST segment elevation. >_ I-nor ST segment depression or new T wave Inversion) or contmindicatlons to !sdionuclide imaging were also excluded. Of screened patients who were considered eligible <Ill% were not carolled because of lack of available isotope . These patients had baseline clinical and ECG characteristics similar to carolled patients . Technique. All patients had a 12-lead ECG and bolas [gjection of 10 to 30 mCi of technetium-99m sestamibi while they were acutely symptomatic . To ensure that radioisotope was available for injection after ecrmal operational hours of the Department of Nuclear Medicine. two pee nixed slats of techaetena-99m sesmmtbi were available for emergency room use between B AM and midnight (morning and afternoon viols). The morning vial was calibrated for 30 mCi at noon and the afternoon vial far 30 mCi a! 4 PM. This allowed 10 mCi of technetium-"m restamibi to be available far injection until stidnigla . Thus. at teax out premixed vial was available for initial imaging between B AM and midnight 7 daystweek. Favergen^y room physicians completed a course in radiation safety, and radioisotope administration was prrfmmed miler supervision of the emergency room physician to ensure ute(-.in, during symptoms . Subsequent to radieisompe Injection, patients were given appropriate ant[dsehemiclantiaoginal lento . After stabilization of symptoms patients were transferred to the Department of Nuclear Medicine for imaging . Inmost patients imaging was . 8D] 54 a performed <60 mm alter igjeetian (mean time [ 17 min, range 30 to 110) . Perfitaan houses were obtained in a IV arc over bit views using 20 aiprQaction from the left posterior oblique to the right ante for oblique position and a siilgk.pbatan emission computed lemographic (SPECT) camas equipped with a low enmgy, high resolution, paralW-hole collimator. Reconstruction was performed using a Buttmwoeth filter without attenuation correction and a 20% symmetric energy widow centered on 140 keV . The images were rend immediately by a Scented expert nuclear cardiologist Or Iadlaloejat, and preliminary results were reported to the attending physician . Images were subsequently analyzed and soared by a consensus of two readers who were unaware of clinical chmaeteristics . ECG results and outcome . Studies were categorized as normal (low risk), abnormal (sigh risk) or equivocal (intermediate risk) by visual qualitative amlyis. Qualifying ECGs were interpreted by one of the inveslgamrs who was unaware of clinical characteristics, technetium-99m sestamibi results and outcome . The ECGs SESTAsOat1N HILTON ai AL 771E EMERGrmey ROOM 1017 were categorized es normal or abnormal (bat nordiagnostic) . Most abnormal (hut mmdiagnostic) ECGs had nonspecific ST-T wave charges or bundle branch block. Normal (low risk) ECGs were compared with abnormal but nondiagnostic (higher risk) ECGs for predictive value. Follow-up ECGs were obtained in 97 patients and analyzed for additional predictive value. Clinical end paints. End points were prospectively de . hiked as prehospital discharge cardiac death. nonfatal myocardial infarction or the need for immediate coronary intervention (coronary artery surgery . coronary angioplasty Or coronary thrombolysts) . Seventy-nine patients were admitted to hospital. Twenty-three (23%) of 102 enrolled patients were discharged from the emergency room . These patients were younger (44 t 11 vs . 52 ± 12 years [mean ± SDi . p O.OOB) and had fewer risk factors (1 .4 ± 1 .2 vs . 2 .1 ± 1 .1 . p = 0.01) than patients admitted to hospital but otherwise had similar baseline clinical and ECG characteristics . Late follow-up of these patients (including a limited history (23 patients] and 12-lead ECG [15 patients] m >90 days) revealed no adverse cardiac events or readmission for recurrent symptoms . Statistical methods Statistical associations between adverse cardiac events and discrete variables were tested by chi-square analysis. Associations between cardiac events and continuous variables were analyzed with independent r tests and univasiate linear regression analysis. Univariate variables significantly (p <_ 0 .05) associated with adverse cardiac events were examined for eofimeority and entered into a multivariate regnsioa equation. Remits Clinical dmratmistira . Clinical charactetiatia, including age. chest pain score, most coronary risk factors and use of certain cardiovascular medications, such as digitalis. anti. anticoagulant or antianginal therapy, were evenly platelet distributed between patients with and without cardiac events (Table I). Similarly, a patient history of previous heart disease, conmaty anpography or exercise test was not predictive of cardiac events . Conversely, compared with patients without cardiac events . patients with cardiac events had a signifiandy higher mean number of cardiac risk factors (2 .5 x 1 .1 vs. 1 .8 ± 1 .1, p = 0.04) . a greater prevalence of abnormal (but eondis®wstic) ECGs, were more often men and had a slightly higher chest pain scale . Chains] risk groups . i n an effort to replicate clinical judgment, patients were stratified into low, intermediate and high risk groups on the basis of coronary risk factors (<3 vs. a3) and their ECGs (normal vs . abnormal but nondiagnostic) (fable 2) . Low (33 patients), intermediate (46 patients) and high (23 patients) risk patients by these clinical criteria had respective cardiac event rates of 6%, I t% and 35% (p = O.0D7) (Fig . I). Combining the intermediate and high risk groups and comparing them with the low risk group revealed n s a R GJ m Rifil l n :1 Is ;!" at a O m w l~ 721 ~ all Jg 81 JIM ~ MOIR! ' l d oil ni ls--a If; i z A3 JACC VU . 23. Na . 5 Aps 199CIO16-zz TECHNETIUM-99M SESTANIEI I I I 1019 l I X HILTON ET AL IN THE SNEOrENCY I910M 1 1 1 A C Fig- 2. A.'[he electtaardiegam of this 60 year old man with typical angina shows oonspecife ST-T wave changes but is not diagnostic d tscheaia. E, Tahxtium-99m sestemibi scan in the shonmxis pop), honkeeal tastg-asis patddte) and vertical tongaxis lissome views in the emergency roam lilt rdamel and before hwtd disdmsge flight mists) . C. Early -may aagtogaphy shows 80% namwiog in the fiatA obhue mooted stay and a Oiling deiea sugpoatwe of thrombus In the bit chmtdkx co may artery. The patient udoweat Was" administration of intmemenary, tnakitme ad sabscgsent mummfd cmaary atgiopluty. Repeat 9ahnetiatr99n teslaoid scan become hospital discharge was nor. . ma, (B, rot mama) tllal inters teats (oval accuracy 71%. p = 0 .01). Thirty-two patients underwent prehospital discharge comar9 andTophy . Founeeo (70%) of 20padeds with= abnormal scan . ihkb 4. Comparison d Smddvhy. Specificity and Overall Mmacy d Nigh m hstmndiale Clinical Risk Shims' Versus Abnormal or Egdvxd Tahoetoa-99m Sesteen'6i Raubs in Prediction d Cardiac Evens Overall Semidvhy SpedOelty A-y Clinical risk same; Tedeniae89msesuabinadt pYdu -so T" 2. 111% 94% NS 379 a% 0.mm 43% t0% 0.0001 compared wish 3 (25%) of 12 with a normal scan, had significant (>70%) coronary artery disease (p = 0.01). Significant coronary artery disease was evenly distributed be, tween the haft anterior descending (39%) . left circumflex . Of the 32 patients (32%) and right (32%) coronary arteries who underwent cardiac catheterizat(on, 8 had anterior perfusion abnormalities, and of these 6 had significant left anterior descendingemonary artery disease (p = 0.0007) . 0f 4 patients with lateral perfusion abnormalities, 3 had dgnir ieant left circumflex coroary attay stea0sia (p - 0.03), and of 13 patients with inferior perfusion defects, 8 had significant right coronary artery stenosis (p = 0.0005) . Follow-up. Follow-up, including limited history (94 patients) and I2-lead EC0 (32 patients) was performed at least 9o days after initial imagigg . One patient with a positive scan 1020 HILTON Er AL . TECHNEr1UM.99M SRSTAMIm IN THE EMERGENCY ROOM underwent coronary angioplasty 5 weeks afterdischarso . No late events occurred in patients with normal soaps . Ualvariate rapessleu analysis . Univariate regression analysis ofclinical, ECG and nuclear scintigmphic variables identified the number of coronary risk factors (p = 0 .04) and tochnetiumA9m sesteadbi scan results (P = 0 .0004) as predictors of adverse cardiac events . Technetium scan results (p = 0.001) and chest pain acme (p = 0 .05) were significantly associated with myocardial infarction . MWdnrite mucelen amiss. Significant (p s 0.05) univariale predictors ofadverse cardiac events were entered into a multivariate wipessiou equation to assess their inde . pendent predictive value . Multivariate regression analysis identified an abnormal techmriurnA9m scetamibi scan as the only independent predictor of adverse cardiac events (p 0 .009). Both techoetium-99m eesmmibi and age were predictive of myocardial infarction (p < 0 .05) . IDiscnon)on Appropriate triage of emergency room patients with either atypical chest pain and a normal BOG or typical angina and a diagnostic ECO is usually straightforward. Appropriate triage is more difficult in the subset of patients with typical angina and a normal or nondiagnostic ECG. Tine current investigation was limited to such patients . Correct early management of this patient subset requires a risk stratification process that can accurately separate the majorfly of patients into low and high risk groups . In the current investigation, initial myocardial perfusion imaging with technetium-99m seslamibi distinguished between most (85%) patients at very low and very high risk far short-tctm cardiac events (<2% and >70%, respectively) . Tints, this technique identified both a lower and higher risk group than standard clinical and ECO variables (alone and in combiatkm). ®etrurardlegasphle and clinical variables. Previous studies have confirmed the limited diagoslic and short-tern predictive value of the initial ECG in acute chest pain syndromes (1-3). Patients with chest pain and a normal or nonspecific ECG have a low risk of Srathreatanlng compli-, atins but the risk of nonfatal myocardial infarction is 1098 to 20% (25,26) . Thus, conservative management of patients with chest pain and a normal or nonspecific ECO may yield a low mortality but may result in lost opportunity for initial Intervention and myocardial salvage. PrevW donor with dwmmo4Ol. Thallium-201 scintigraphy is highly sensitive i the detection of myocardial infarction when Isotope Injection and Image acquisition we performed early after the onset of symptoms (12). Quantita. Live analysis of the ncitigrams an enhance identification of patients with multivessel coronary artery disease (I5). The usefulness of thallium-201 imaging in unstable angina has also been well described (27-29) . Large transmaal perfusion abnormalities are seen in patients with variant angina and ST LACC VaL 23. No. 5 Ap11 1991101e-22 segment elevation at rest (27). Rest angina with ST segment depression or normalization of negative T wares is associated with more localized subendocardial perfusion abnor malflles (28). However, there are logistic problems associated with the use of thallium-201 in acute isehemic syndromes . Because thallium-201 redistributes after bdea tom. optimal diagnostic accuracy requires that isotope iojec tion and image apttdsition be performed while patients are symptomatic_ This may reduce the safety of the technique. Some investigators have suggested that diagnostic accuracy is not affected when thallium-201 injection is delayed after chat pain (15) . Other studies of initial nuclear scintigraphy have demonstrated decreased sensitivity when radioisotope injection is performed after resolution of symptoms (16) . Also. because thallium-201 requires a cyclotron for its production, it Is impractical to keep doses available for an unpredictable number of emergency room patients. In the current investigation, logistic problems associated with Ihalliuna20l were overcome by using technetimo-99m set, consist. Tedtnelr .Am a ulaalW . IM newer isotope has pro . longed retention by the ntyocardlum and redistributes mini . mally after Injection (23) . Patients can be given an Injection dwig cardiac symptoms and them treated with anti-ischemic therapy before cardiac imaging . We believe that the high level of predictive accuracy achieved with teehnetiwo-%n sestamibi i this study Is attributable in pan to the absence of significant delay between the symptoms and radioisotope Injection . Additional advantages o' technetltmf99m seats . Erbi include a phoiaemim)on of 140 keV and more optimal doemery, allowing higher dosage and superior SPECI' image quality. The advantageous properties of this new isotope have been recognized in ontaagement of patients with unstable coronary syndromes . Injection of the isotope In pants with acute myacarial b Monition be Pore reperfusio therapy can define an area of risk, and repast study titer therapy quantil tea myocardial salvage (17 .18,30.31). In patients with acute myocerdil infarction and a nondiagnostic ECG, tedusad m-99m seslamlbi allows early dlagtlosis and accurate identification of the ifrerteitad artery (21). TcineUwasd9m dam161 Nor Ii1W haagtq i peMsass with shunt pai. Other studies have used techtetlum-99m senemibi scintigraphy to asses spontaneous chest pain (1622) and to rule out myocardial infarction in the enter 8ency room (19). These studies have ban limited by small sample size (<50 sutyects), loose inclusion criteria (enrolling patients with chest pain "suggestive of myaeardii eeh . emda" [16D and delays of isotope Injection until after resolution of spontaneous chest pain. Nonetheless, these studies have demonstrated high accuracy i identification of parents with myocardial infarction . Similar to our experience . Varetto a al . (19) observed that in emergency room patients with a normal scan, there i a very low incidence ofadverse cardiac events during hospital admission or after 3-month Mow-up. Indeed, in the current investigation, a significant JACC VOL 25 . No. 5 April 1994:1016-22 TECHNETIUM-99M cardiac event did not occur in the group of patients with normal scans until nerdy 100 patients had been enrolled . Sensitivity in the current investigation (94%) is highly coosister with the observations of Bilodeau et al . (16) and Gre .goire and Theroux (22) . Both groups reported sensitivities of 96% when initial technetium-99m sestamibi was used to diagnose acute myocardial infarction, Thus, widespread application of this technique could achieve a significant reduction in inappropriate emergency room discharge of patients with myocardial infarction. The significantly higher specificity (85%) of this technique compared with standard clinical and ECU variables will hopefully allow reduction of costly, inappropriate intensive care admissions of patients with normal scans. Cosacaoslderatloos . The cost associated with acute radionuclide seintigraphy ($600.011 in our institution) should be considered. This expense may be partially offset by decreases in inappropriate intensive care admissions and shortened length of hospital slay in patients with normal acute perfusion scans. Such patients are candidates for expeditious cardiac evaluation, including early stress testing (usually in <12 to 24 h) . The initial chest pain seen in such patients is used as the rest or baseline image . Patients with a compatible history and an abnormal scan are at significant risk for myocardial infarction and may be candidates for initial coronary interventions. such as lhrombolysis or coronary revascularization . Further study will be needed to determine whether such patients might benefit from intravenous thrombdysis . Ltd of the atody. Because of limited sample size, only one event occurred in patients with a normal scan . Small cell size could result In statistical error . Also, quantitative analysis of the tomographie images may have improved predictive accuracy . but our results are very similar to previous reports (16,22) in which quantitative SPECT analysis was used. Moreover, qualitative analysis is commonly used for the interpretation of myocardial perfusion studies. Finally, formal analysis of cost-effectiveness was not a put of tte current investigation but would have obvious relevance . Comeldaes. The present observations suggest that acute technetium-99m sestamibi imaging is a practical technique that can accurately distinguish between very low (<20) and very high (>70%) risk for adverse cardiac events in most (85%) emergency, room patients with typical angina and a noadtagnostlc ECO. Compared with clinical and ECO vadshles (almne and in combination), this new technique appears to have significantly greater specificity and overall accuracy in the prediction of adverse cardiac events . Patients with normal scans are candidates for expeditious cardiac evaltmtiast and possible curly hospital discharge. An abnormal scan is associated with a high risk of myocardial infarction, and such patients may be candidates for initial coronary intervention. HILTON ET AL. SESrAMIBI IN THE EMERGENCY ROOM 1021 Appendix . Chest Pain Score Pdsitire Location Suhsternal Preeordial Left chest, base of neck, lower jaw, epigastrium Radiation Either arm Shoulder, back, neck, lower jaw (arm not mentioned) Charactcr Crushing, pressing . squeezing Heaviness or tightness Severity Severe Moderate Associated symptoms Dyspnea Diaphoresis Nauseatvomiting Previous angina history (previous history of angina pectoris : associated with exertion. relieved by rest or relieved by nitrvvglycerin) Nrgarire Location Localized to apex Character Sticking . stabbing, pinprick catching +3 +2 +1 +2 +I +3 +2 +2 +1 +2 +2 +3 -I -t References I . sends JE. Band DA, A®mpum D. Chahner B, 1550110,5 FJ. L- : ai the initial decoamdiaWam 19 predict is-hospital conplicdiae of roots my-dial nfluction. N Engl J Med 198$312:1137-41. 2 . Vihanueva FS tuba PJ, Afrenkteh A. Pdlork SG, Hwang LI, Kaul S . Value mod GpytallnpsafMSPdmotkadsufwahwlingpaliaas presealil8 m the emergency mum with a udiao-rtted symptom for detemdeay lane-mm marimmh . Am J Cstdiol 19D2dv746-JB. 3 . Lee TH . Rouen GW, weuog MC . Bated DA, Cook EF, Acne- D. GoMmm L . Sealtivay, of merit ddiet criteria far diagnoring myoean, dial iafumim abide 24 hours of hmpimBzadaa, Ann liters Mad 1917: 106:181-6 . 4. Lee TH, Ram GW. Weaberg MC. m al. Cladml ehmrctemtics and assured bone, of paomu with MUM myocordkd kdseoiwe sent home from the emergeney mom. Am J Cerdlo11987:m:219-20 . LeeTH .userLW.Brand DA .leanChmdYD,et .1.Palheawhhuum chest pain who tune cancycsay room depettmenls agmmt mcdcst advice . J Gm burn Mod 19119 :21-4. 6. Lee TH, Good-L. The .-my cue null trans 3: Maorial trends and fat- direction . Ann totem Mod 1989;10807-91. 7. Hall AG, Thlbmdt GE, Hbghes RA, Samett GO . Reder VA, Sheen IL. The emme or pilau. with mspacd myucudb infmctiuo; the idenriticoian of towwksk pticma for easy sander from intensive care. N End J Mad 1910:10!:947-8. 8. Goodman L. Cook EF. Brand DA, m al. A compuler peanocd to predict myarmrsal infaretioe in edurueuy deportment patients with taut pain . N EraoJ Mad 1988318 :797401. 9. Potty MW. D'Agonioo an . Seam HP, Sylkowekt PA, Hoad wa. A 5. psedit ice ietrsntem to improve coronary core unit admislm pmmtees in seat- hehaoia heart disuse ; a prospective mukiceider clinical trial . N Erro I Mad 1984;7m127.1-8. lo. Homwita as. Margaruotk J . Immedioe detection of early high-risk pltnls with acne myocardial Infection win& two-0Imensimal electN ;s gad IC INN Id IL F a p ELI 10 P! P! Sa y -ei!j so Pi a rj i U, RURIP14 111