Evaluation of 99Tcm-tetrofosmin as a myocardial perfusion agent in routine clinical use.

Recent trials with selected patients have indicated that 99Tcm-tetrofosmin is a suitable agent for myocardial perfusion imaging. We performed 99Tcm-tetrofosmin perfusion imaging in an unselected group of 297 patients routinely referred to our department. Single photon emission tomographic (SPET) imaging was performed 45-60 min post-injection using a 2-day stress and rest protocol. Altogether, 192 patients were stressed on a treadmill and 105 using intravenous dobutamine. Comparison with angiography was possible in 86 patients, 65 of whom had atheromatous coronary artery disease and 21 of whom had normal coronary arteries (6 of whom fulfilled the criteria for syndrome X). The sensitivity for the detection of coronary artery disease was 94% (93% for exercise stress and 95% for dobutamine). The overall specificity was 85% (87% for exercise stress and 80% for dobutamine in the 15 normal patients and the segments supplied by disease-free coronary vessels in patients with disease elsewhere). We conclude that 99Tcm-tetrofosmin is a highly sensitive and specific agent for the detection of coronary artery disease, using both exercise and dobutamine stress, with few limitations.