Italian registry of cardiac computed tomography

Purpose Cardiac CT (CCT) is an imaging modality that is becoming a standard in clinical cardiology. We evaluated indications, safety, and impact on patient management of routine CCT in a multicenter national registry. Materials and methods During a period of 6 months, 47 centers in Italy enrolled 3,455 patients. Results CCT was performed mainly with 64-slice CT scanners (73.02%). Contrast agents were administrated in 3,185 patients (92.5%). Mean DLP changes with type of scanner and was lower in >64 row detector scanner. The most frequent indication for CCT was suspected CAD (44.8%), followed by calcium scoring (9.6%), post-angioplasty/stenting (8.3%), post-CABGs (7.5%), study of cardiac anatomy (4.22%) and assessment in patients with known CAD (4.1%) and acute chest pain (1.99%). Most of the CCTs were performed in outpatient settings (2,549; 74%) and a minority in inpatient settings (719, 20.8%). Adverse clinical events (mild–moderate) occurred in 26 examinations (0.75%). None of them was severe. In 45.3% of the cases CCT findings impacted patient management. Conclusion CCT is performed with different workloads in participating centers. It is a safe procedure and its results have a strong impact on patient management.