Abstract: Objective　To quantitatively evaluate the plaque load of non-criminal lesions (NCL) by coronary CT angiography (CTA) in patients with non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS) complicated with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Methods　A total of 112 patients with NSTE-ACS who underwent coronary CTA examination were divided into the experimental group (58 cases) and the control group (54 cases) according to whether they were complicated with T2DM. Patients in both groups were successfully treated with PCI for criminal lesions (CL) shown by coronary angiography (CAG). Semi-automatic plaque quantification software was used to assess NCL plaque load in the two groups. Results　The non-calcified plaque volume, low-density non-calcified plaque volume, total plaque volume, non-calcified plaque load, low-density non-calcified plaque load and total plaque load of NCL plaques were significantly higher in the experimental group than those in the control group (P＜0.01). There were no significant differences in NCL plaque volume, calcified plaque load and RI between the two groups (P＞0.05). There was a positive correlation between blood glucose and NCL plaque non-calcified plaque volume (rs=0.472), low-density non-calcified plaque volume (rs=0.370), total plaque volume (rs=0.522), non-calcified plaque load (rs=0.502), low density non-calcified plaque load (rs=0.536) and total plaque load (rs=0.486). Conclusion　Patients with NSTE-ACS combined with T2DM have a large NCL plaque load, and blood glucose affects the plaque volume and load.

Key words: acute coronary syndrome, diabetes mellitus, type 2, coronary CT angiography, non-criminal lesion, criminal lesion, plaque load