Plain chest radiograph with computed radiography: improved sensitivity for the detection of coronary artery calcification.

The ability of computed radiography (CR) with photostimulable phosphor to detect coronary artery calcification (CAC) was compared with conventional radiography with the film-screen method. Posteroanterior and lateral chest radiographs were reviewed that had been obtained with both methods in 77 patients with a variety of heart diseases. Cineangiography confirmed that 31 patients had CAC (left CAC in 31 patients, right CAC in 11) and that 46 patients had no CAC. For left CAC, the sensitivity of CR was 71%, significantly higher than that of conventional radiography (32%, p less than .01). For right CAC, the sensitivity of CR was only 27%, but that of conventional radiography was 0%. The specificities in detecting CAC were similar for both methods (CR, 96%; conventional method, 100%). Fine anatomic details of calcified foci were seen more clearly on CR. Chest imaging with the CR system is a promising method for detecting CAC.