Integrated Coronary CT Angiography Assessment of Plaque Vulnerability and Clinical Outcomes: The Morphology-Inflammation-Burden (MIB) Score
Authors' conclusion
A coronary CTA-derived MIB score correlates with plaque vulnerability by intracoronary imaging and identifies patients at increased risk for adverse events.
Study context
- Population
- Patients undergoing coronary CT angiography followed by optical coherence tomography (OCT) and intravascular ultrasound (IVUS)1,038 plaques
- Participants
- 438 patients
- Exposure
- Vulnerable vs non-vulnerable patients
- Outcome
- Association of CT angiography-derived MIB score (plaque morphology, pericoronary inflammation, plaque burden) with OCT-defined plaque vulnerability (≥2 vulnerability features) and clinical outcomes
- Follow-up
- Median 31 months
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
OCT-defined plaque vulnerability and cardiac death, ACS or revascularization
P < 0.001
- High-risk plaque, elevated pericoronary adipose tissue attenuation and high total plaque burden independently associated with OCT-defined vulnerability
- P < 0.05 for all
- MIB score showed a stepwise increase in vulnerability; predicted risk in highest category exceeded
- 90%
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
Total plaque burden vs IVUS percent atheroma volume
- Pearson's r
- 0.69
- P
- P < 0.001
Original publication
Integrated Coronary CT Angiography Assessment of Plaque Vulnerability and Clinical Outcomes: The Morphology-Inflammation-Burden (MIB) Score. JACC Cardiovasc Imaging. Published 16 June 2026. doi:10.
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it