Incidental Finding of Coronary Artery Calcification on CT: How Often Is It Reported? How Often Is It Acted On?

Coronary artery calcification (CAC), identified on noncontrast chest computed tomography (NCCT), should be considered diagnostic for coronary artery disease (CAD). To assess how often radiologists report CAC as an incidental finding on NCCT and what happens next, researchers at a single center prospectively enrolled 204 non-CAD patients who received NCCT for noncardiological reasons. Mean age of patients was 63; 59% were men; 23% were on statins; and 21% were taking aspirin.

CAC was noted in 36% of radiologists' reports and was found in 53% of reviews of the scans by expert cardiologist readers. The expert readers agreed with 97% of the radiologists' findings of CAC. However, in 36 patients (18%), expert cardiology readers identified CAC not…