CONTRAST-ENHANCED MAGNETIC-RESONANCE ANGI OGRAPHY FOR DETERMINING PATENCY OF CORONARY-BYPASS GRAFTS - A COMPARISON WITH CORONARY ANGIOGRAPHY

Aim: Assessment of graft patency with current non-invasive MRA techniq ues is particularly difficult for evaluating internal mammary artery g rafts, Our aim is to determine the accuracy of a contrast enhanced MRA technique in assessing graft patency. Methods: We examined 19 patient s with a total of 53 grafts (32 venous/21 arterial), using an ultrafas t contrast enhanced 3D gradient-echo technique and compared this with the results of selective angiography. Results: Sensitivity of the cont rast enhanced method was 95.2% for venous grafts, 94.4% for IMA grafts and 94.8% overall, Specificity was 85.7% overall, 90.9% for venous an d 66.7% for IMA grafts. Positive predictive value was 94.4%. Conclusio n: Compared with previous studies, visualisation of IMB grafts was imp roved by using contrast enhanced MRA. In this preliminary study, contr ast enhanced MRA proved promising for the assessment of graft patency.