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Dual-energy computed tomography (DECT) can differentiate iodine from other materials through the material decomposition technique. The purpose of this study was to compare the diagnostic performance of DECT-derived iodine concentration (mg/ml) with conventional enhancement measurements (HU), in detecting left atrial appendage (LAA) thrombi and differentiating thrombi from circulatory stasis in atrial fibrillation (AF) patients referred for catheter ablation. Consecutive patients were prospectively recruited and scanned using a third-generation dual-source CT system in dual-energy mode. Regions of interest were placed inside the filling defect in the LAA and ascending aorta (AA) of the same sections, to determine iodine concentration and the LAA/AA HU ratio. The diagnostic performance of iodine concentration and LAA/AA HU ratios were compared using transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) as the reference standard. Among 302 patients, 10 thrombi and 27 cases with spontaneous echo contrast (SEC) were detected by TEE. Diagnostic accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of iodine concentration were superior to those of LAA/AA HU ratios (iodine concentration: 99.7%, 100%, 99.7%, 90.9%, and 100% vs. LAA/AA HU ratios: 96.0%, 100%, 95.9%, 45.5%, and 100%) in detecting LAA thrombi. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of iodine concentration (0.996; 0.898–1.000) was significantly larger than that of the LAA/AA HU ratio (0.881; 0.733–0.964) in differentiating thrombi from circulatory stasis (p < 0.05). DECT-derived iodine concentration was associated with improved diagnostic accuracy compared with conventional enhancement measurements in detecting LAA thrombi and differentiating thrombi from circulatory stasis in AF patients. • Dual-energy CT offers iodine value (mg/ml) rather than mere HU value. • Iodine value was superior to HU to detect left atrial appendage thrombus. • Iodine value was superior to HU to distinguish thrombus from circulatory stasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives We aimed to investigate the long-term clinical outcomes of selective stenting versus percutaneous balloon angioplasty (PTA) in hypertensive patients with renal artery stenosis caused by Takayasu arteritis (RASTA). Methods We retrospectively analyzed the data of consecutive 152 RASTA patients from Fuwai Hospital between 2005 and 2012. All target lesions of renal arteries were firstly treated by plain PTA. After angioplasty, if flow-limited dissection and/or residual stenosis > 50% of diameter on angiogram existed, a selective stenting was then followed to further morphological improvement. Results The baseline characteristics between PTA (n = 93) and stenting groups (n = 59) were indistinguishable. At two-year follow-up, the rates of normalized, improved, and unaltered hypertension were 27.4%, 63.4% and 12.3% in PTA group (n = 93) versus 22.4%, 62.1% and 15.5% respectively in stenting group (p = 0.79). Primary patency rate was 90.1% in renal arteries (125 lesions) treated with PTA versus 75.6% in renal arteries (64 lesions) treated with stent placement (p = 0.008). Female, active stage of the disease requiring glucocorticoid and/or immunosuppressant agents, residual stenosis rate and stenting were significantly associated with the restenosis. In patients with restenosis, renal artery occlusion occurred more in stenting group (8/15), compared with that in PTA group (1/12) (p = 0.019). The stenting group underwent more reintervention procedures than PTA group (13/63 versus 8/125, p = 0.003). Conclusions If PTA alone failed in treating RASTA, selective stenting resulted in similarly effective blood pressure reduction. Stenting also resulted in lower 2-year primary patency rate, higher occlusion rate and higher reintervention rate than those who did not need stenting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]