Introduction: Coronary artery disease (CAD) is one of the leading causes of mortality in kidney transplant (KT) recipients. Noninvasive coronary angiography using multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) is feasible with high sensitivity and negative predictive value to evaluate CAD. However, few studies have been conducted to elucidate the applicability of MDCT in kidney transplantation (KT). The current study was designed to evaluate the prevalence and severity of CAD by using MDCT angiography in asymptomatic KT recipients.

Materials and Methods: Between September 2011 and November 2013, MDCT angiography was performed on 90 renal transplant recipients who had no pre-transplant CAD history and stabilized post-transplant renal function between 6 months and 18 months. Using the MDCT results, we divided our study population into two groups: The No CAD group (n=36, 40.0%) and the CAD group (n=54, 60.0%). Severity of CAD was categorized as follows: mild CAD, one vessel obstructive, two vessels obstructive (or in the proximal left anterior descending), and three vessels obstructive (or left main).

Results: Among the risk factors, pre-transplant diabetes mellitus (DM) and lower levels of high density lipoprotein (HDL), higher parathyroid hormone levels, higher coronary artery calcification (CAC) scores, and rejection episodes were independent factors for CAD. Thirty two (59.3%) of CAD group had mild obstructive lesions and 22 (40.7%) had obstructive lesions in more than one vessel in MDCT angiography.

Conclusions: The MDCT angiography is a useful and noninvasive method for detecting CAD even in asymptomatic KT recipients.

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