Sixteen-row multislice computed tomography in the assessment of pulmonary veins prior to ablative treatment: validation vs conventional pulmonary venography and study of reproducibility

The aim of this study was to validate multislice computed tomography (MSCT) venography measurements of pulmonary vein (PV) diameters vs conventional pulmonary venography (CPV), and to assess the reproducibility of MSCT data. The study included 21 consecutive patients with atrial fibrillation who were planned for cryothermal ablation of PVs. One day before ablation, all patients underwent CPV and contrast-enhanced non-gated MSCT venography. The MSCT was repeated 3 months after ablation. The CPV images of the treated PVs (n=40) were analyzed and compared with the results of MSCT measurements. Reproducibility of MSCT venography-based data was assessed by interobserver (n=84 PVs) and interexamination (n=44 PVs) variability. Pre-treatment PV diameters on MSCT and CPV showed good correlation (r=0.87, p<0.01; 18.9±.2.3 mm, 188.5±.2.4 mm, respectively). Interobserver agreement and interexamination reproducibility were good (r=0.91, r=0.82, respectively, p<0.01), with narrow limits of agreement (Bland and Altman method). The MSCT venography allows accurate and reproducible assessment of PVs. It can be used both in non-invasive planning of treatment for ablative therapy and in the follow-up of patients.