Evaluation of Spectral Cardiac CT for the Diagnosis of Acute Myocarditis

Spectral cardiac CT scan performed in an emergency setting in patients with suspected acute myocarditis and presenting one selves with an acute chest pain, allows the non-invasive assessment of both the coronary arteries and the myocardium. Delayed iodine contrast-enhanced CT imaging should show the inflamed area with an increased uptake of iodine contrast agent in the interstitial space, such as the well-known hypersignal seen on the myocardial delayed enhancement sequence with MRI (corresponding of an uptake of gadolinium contrast agent in the abnormal myocardium). This technique has the potential to replace MRI, thus allowing the diagnosis of acute myocarditis with a rapid and easily accessible technique. Moreover, it has the additional benefit of avoiding invasive coronary angiography in the specific population of patients without any significant risk factors of atheromatous disease.