Prognostic Utility of Coronary Computed Tomographic Angiography: A 5-Year Follow-Up in Type 2 Diabetes Patients with Suspected Coronary Artery Disease

Objectives. To analyze the predictive value of coronary computed tomography angiography on acute coronary artery events in patients with type 2 diabetes. Methods. Coronary computed tomography angiography was performed in 250 type 2 diabetic patients. After a follow-up for 5 years, 145 patients were excluded as they did not have any coronary events. The remaining 95 patients were divided into study group and control group. According to their density and shape, the coronary artery plaques were classified into 3 types and 4 types, respectively. Results. There is no statistically significant difference in the degree of stenosis between two groups. The proportion of calcified plaques in the study group was lower than in the control group. The proportion of mixed-calcified plaques in the study group was higher than in the other. Type III plaques have a 76.2% sensitivity and negative predictive value was 64.5% for acute coronary events; type IV plaques have a sensitivity of 52.6% and positive predictive value of 63% for chronic coronary events. Conclusions. CCTA may be used as a non-invasive modality for evaluating and predicting vulnerable coronary atherosclerosis plaques in patients with type 2 diabetes.