Is recommended. HsCRP was quantified by nephelometry, utilizing polystyrene beadcoupled antibodies (Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics, Eschborn, Germany). HMGB1 measurement was performed using ELISA (Shino-Test Corp., Kanagawa, Japan, distributed by IBL, Hamburg, Germany) according to the manufacturer’s 1326631 instructions[14] with an intra- and inter-assay coefficient of variation of ,10 .Table 1. Demographic and cardiac CT data.ParametersPatients (n = 152)DemographicsAge (yrs) Male sex 64610 87 (57 )Coronary risk factorsArterial hypertension Hypercholesterolemia Diabetes mellitus Family history of coronary artery disease Smoking Total number of risk factors (0?) 121 (80 ) 87 (57 ) 14 (9 ) 70 (46 ) 64 (42 ) 2.561.Follow-up DataPersonnel unaware of the stress results contacted each subject or an immediate family member and the date of this contact was used for calculating the follow-up time duration. Outcome data were collected from a standardized questionnaire and determined from patient interviews at the outpatient clinic or by telephone interviews. Reported clinical events were confirmed by review of the corresponding medical records in our electronic Hospital Information Systems (HIS), contact with the general Title Loaded From File practitioner, referring cardiologist or the treating hospital. Death, myocardial infarction and clinically indicated coronary revascularization procedures by PCI or CABG were defined as major cardiac adverse events (MACE) during the follow-up period.Cardiac medicationsAspirin (100 mg/day) or clopidogrel (75 mg/day) b-Title Loaded From File blockers ACE inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers Statins Nitrates 84 (55 ) 75 (49 ) 42 (28 ) 59 (39 ) 5 (3 )Calcium scoring and CTA dataHeart rate(1/min) Metoprolol administration I.V. (mg) Calcium Scoring (Agatston units) 6269 6.065.8 1486193 42 (28 ) 75 (49 ) 18 (12 ) 17 (11 )Statistical AnalysisAnalysis was performed using commercially available software MedCalc9.3 (MedCalc software, Mariakerke, Belgium) and data are presented as mean6one standard deviation. The relation between Agatston score and total non-calcified plaque volume with hsTnT, HsCRP and HMGB1 was assessed using linear regression analysis. Differences in hsTnT and hsCRP levels by plaque composition and with or without vascular remodeling were assessed using ANOVA with Bonferroni’s adjustment for multiple comparisons. Furthermore, CTA findings for calcium scoring and plaque composition were analyzed by patient tertiles based on the corresponding hsTnT and HMBG1 values. Uni- and multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to estimate the ability clinical variables and biochemical markers to predict non-calcified plaque burden, plaque composition and clinical outcome. Linear regression analysis was used to investigate the relation between calcium scoring and coronary plaque burden with biochemical markers. Intra- and inter-observer variability for quantification of 1) noncalcified plaque volume, 2) coronary calcium with non-contrast scans and 3) plaque subtype categorization were calculated by repeated analysis of 40 randomly selected cases. Differences were considered statistically significant at p,0.05.No plaques or stenosis Diameter stenosis ,50 Single vessel CAD 18325633 Multi vessel CADBiochemical markersHs-CRP (mg/dl) Hs-TnT (pg/ml) Hmbg1 (ng/ml) 6.162.3 10.766.1 2.864.Data presented as number of patients or as mean6standard deviation. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0052081.tImage Quality and Radiation ExposureDiagnostic image quality was achieved in.Is recommended. HsCRP was quantified by nephelometry, utilizing polystyrene beadcoupled antibodies (Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics, Eschborn, Germany). HMGB1 measurement was performed using ELISA (Shino-Test Corp., Kanagawa, Japan, distributed by IBL, Hamburg, Germany) according to the manufacturer’s 1326631 instructions[14] with an intra- and inter-assay coefficient of variation of ,10 .Table 1. Demographic and cardiac CT data.ParametersPatients (n = 152)DemographicsAge (yrs) Male sex 64610 87 (57 )Coronary risk factorsArterial hypertension Hypercholesterolemia Diabetes mellitus Family history of coronary artery disease Smoking Total number of risk factors (0?) 121 (80 ) 87 (57 ) 14 (9 ) 70 (46 ) 64 (42 ) 2.561.Follow-up DataPersonnel unaware of the stress results contacted each subject or an immediate family member and the date of this contact was used for calculating the follow-up time duration. Outcome data were collected from a standardized questionnaire and determined from patient interviews at the outpatient clinic or by telephone interviews. Reported clinical events were confirmed by review of the corresponding medical records in our electronic Hospital Information Systems (HIS), contact with the general practitioner, referring cardiologist or the treating hospital. Death, myocardial infarction and clinically indicated coronary revascularization procedures by PCI or CABG were defined as major cardiac adverse events (MACE) during the follow-up period.Cardiac medicationsAspirin (100 mg/day) or clopidogrel (75 mg/day) b-blockers ACE inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers Statins Nitrates 84 (55 ) 75 (49 ) 42 (28 ) 59 (39 ) 5 (3 )Calcium scoring and CTA dataHeart rate(1/min) Metoprolol administration I.V. (mg) Calcium Scoring (Agatston units) 6269 6.065.8 1486193 42 (28 ) 75 (49 ) 18 (12 ) 17 (11 )Statistical AnalysisAnalysis was performed using commercially available software MedCalc9.3 (MedCalc software, Mariakerke, Belgium) and data are presented as mean6one standard deviation. The relation between Agatston score and total non-calcified plaque volume with hsTnT, HsCRP and HMGB1 was assessed using linear regression analysis. Differences in hsTnT and hsCRP levels by plaque composition and with or without vascular remodeling were assessed using ANOVA with Bonferroni’s adjustment for multiple comparisons. Furthermore, CTA findings for calcium scoring and plaque composition were analyzed by patient tertiles based on the corresponding hsTnT and HMBG1 values. Uni- and multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to estimate the ability clinical variables and biochemical markers to predict non-calcified plaque burden, plaque composition and clinical outcome. Linear regression analysis was used to investigate the relation between calcium scoring and coronary plaque burden with biochemical markers. Intra- and inter-observer variability for quantification of 1) noncalcified plaque volume, 2) coronary calcium with non-contrast scans and 3) plaque subtype categorization were calculated by repeated analysis of 40 randomly selected cases. Differences were considered statistically significant at p,0.05.No plaques or stenosis Diameter stenosis ,50 Single vessel CAD 18325633 Multi vessel CADBiochemical markersHs-CRP (mg/dl) Hs-TnT (pg/ml) Hmbg1 (ng/ml) 6.162.3 10.766.1 2.864.Data presented as number of patients or as mean6standard deviation. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0052081.tImage Quality and Radiation ExposureDiagnostic image quality was achieved in.
