Prognostic Utility of Nodular Calcification Detected on Non-Contrast Computed Tomography in Severely Calcified Coronary Lesions

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Background: Nodular calcification (NC) detected via intracoronary imaging is associated with adverse cardiovascular events after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). However, the impact of NC detected on pre-PCI non-contrast computed tomography (CT) on clinical outcomes has not been fully investigated.

Methods and Results: We retrospectively included 267 consecutive patients with chronic coronary syndrome who underwent electrocardiography-gated non-contrast CT before PCI for severely calcified lesions. The primary outcome was major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCE), a composite of all-cause death, stroke, non-fatal myocardial infarction, and target lesion revascularization (TLR). Fifty-eight patients had NC detected on non-contrast CT in target lesions. The MACCE-free survival rate was significantly lower in patients with than without NC (P<0.001). All-cause death, cardiac death, and TLR-free survival rates were significantly lower among patients with than without NC. Multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed that hemodialysis (hazard ratio [HR] 3.00; P=0.003), peripheral artery disease (HR 2.65; P=0.01), and the presence of NC (HR 5.25; P<0.001) were independently associated with MACCE. Adding NC to traditional cardiovascular risk factors, peripheral artery disease, and hemodialysis can provide discriminatory and reclassification abilities in predicting MACCE.

Conclusions: NC detected on non-contrast CT was independently associated with MACCE. Therefore, evaluating NC using preprocedural non-contrast CT may be useful in predicting future clinical outcomes after PCI.