Optical coherence tomography versus intravascular ultrasound in patients with myocardial infarction: a diagnostic performance study of pre-percutaneous coronary interventions

Accurate coronary measurements are important in guiding percutaneous coronary intervention. Intravascular ultrasound is a widely accepted diagnostic modality for coronary measurement before percutaneous coronary intervention. The spatial resolution of optical coherence tomography is 10 times larger than that of intravascular ultrasound. The objective of the study was to compare quantitative and qualitative parameters of frequency domain optical coherence tomography (FDOCT) with those of intravascular ultrasound and coronary angiography in patients with acute myocardial infarction. Diagnostic parameters of coronary angiography, intravascular ultrasound, and FDOCT of 250 patients with coronary artery disease who required admission diagnosis were included in the analyses. Minimum lumen diameter detected by FDOCT was larger than that detected by quantitative coronary angiography (2.11±0.1 vs 1.89±0.09 mm, P<0.0001, q=34.67) but smaller than that detected by intravascular ultrasound (2.11±0.1 vs 2.19±0.11 mm, P<0.0001, q=12.61). Minimum lumen area detected by FDOCT was smaller than that detected by intravascular ultrasound (3.41±0.01 vs 3.69±0.01 mm(2), P<0.0001). FDOCT detected higher numbers of thrombus, tissue protrusion, dissection, and incomplete stent apposition than those detected by intravascular ultrasound (P<0.0001 for all). More accurate and sensitive results of the coronary lumen can be detected by FDOCT than coronary angiography and intravascular ultrasound (level of evidence: III).