OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the accuracy in the detection of abdominal aortic calcification by densitometry as compared with lateral spine radiography. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Study comprising 80 individuals, 50 of them with abdominal aortic calcification and 30 without calcification. Densitometry was performed once for each participant, with the patient in right lateral decubitus position. RESULTS:Both groups were similar in terms of age range and body mass index - mean age of 74.56 ± 10.55 years and 68.40 ± 10.80 years and mean body mass index of 28.94 ± 6.06 kg/m², and 26.84 ± 4.11 kg/m², respectively for the individuals with abdominal aortic calcification and for the individuals without calcification. A statistical comparison between densitometry and radiography demonstrates similar performances of the two methods in the detection of abdominal aortic calcification, with 100% specificity and positive predictive value, 94% sensitivity, 90.9% negative predictive value, and 96.3% accuracy. Qualitative equivalence in diagnosis was demonstrated by kappa correlation index of 0.922. CONCLUSION: The results obtained by radiography and densitometry were statistically equivalent, which endorses the indication of densitometry for investigating abdominal aortic calcification.

Keywords: Atherosclerosis; Abdominal aorta; Densitometry.