The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of image acquisition settings and patients' characteristics on image quality and radiation dose for coronary angiography by 320-row computed tomography (CT). CORE320 is a prospective study to investigate the diagnostic performance of 320-detector CT for detecting coronary artery disease and associated myocardial ischemia. A run-in phase in 65 subjects was conducted to test the adequacy of the computed tomography angiography (CTA) acquisition protocol. Tube current, exposure window, and number of cardiac beats per acquisition were adjusted according to subjects' gender, heart rate, and body mass index (BMI). Main outcome measures were image quality, assessed by contrast/noise measurements and qualitatively on a 4-point scale, and radiation dose, estimated by the dose-length-product. Average heart rate at image acquisition was 55.0±7.3 bpm. Median Agatston calcium score was 27.0 (interquartile range 1–330). All scans were prospectively triggered. Single heart beat image acquisition was obtained in 61 of 65 studies (94%). Sixty-one studies (94%) and 437 of 455 arterial segments (96%) were of diagnostic image quality. Estimated radiation dose was significantly greater in obese (5.3±0.4 mSv) than normal weight (4.6±0.3 mSv) or overweight (4.7±0.3 mSv) subjects (P<0.001). BMI was the strongest factor influencing image quality (odds ratio=1.457, P=0.005). The CORE320 CTA image acquisition protocol achieved a good balance between image quality and radiation dose for a 320-detector CT system. However, image quality in obese subjects was reduced compared to normal weight subjects, possibly due to tube voltage/current restrictions mandated by the study protocol.

Objective:To determine the frequency of modifiable cardiovascular risk factors in Rheumatoid Arthritis patients at tertiary care hospital.Methods:During this study 246 patients of Rheumatoid Arthritis were enrolled from outpatients department of Medicine of Central Park Medical College Hospital, Lahore from July 1, 2016 to January 31, 2017. Demographic data and questions related to study were noted. After 14 hours of fasting 5ml of venous blood was drawn for Cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL and blood sugar level. Blood tests were performed on COBAS c III (ROCHE), Framingham 10 year Risk score was calculated for every individual.Results:The mean age of male population was (50.2 ±7.5) and females (48.4±7.6) and female gender was common. Seventy eight (78%) of study population has one modifiable risk factor. Most frequent risk factor found in this study was BMI>30 in 48.4% (n=119), High LDL 43.5% (n=107), moderate to high FRS score 40.2% (n=99), Hypertension 37.4% (n=92), Diabetes Mellitus was present in 22.8% (n=56), while smoking was least frequent risk factors with frequency of 15.9% (n=39). Framingham cardiovascular risk score was significantly different, males were having higher mean 10 year risk score (19.7%) and females (8.7%) with (p-<0.01). Regression analysis revealed that older patients of Rheumatoid Arthritis with disease duration of more than seven years are four times more likely to have High Framingham risk score, moderate to high LDL and diabetes mellitus with significant high Odds ratio (p-value <0.05).Conclusion:Rheumatoid Arthritis patients are having increased chances of developing cardiovascular risk factors leading to cardiovascular events with male sex, increasing age and disease duration.

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