Ogawa T, Okudera T, Noguchi K, Sasaki N, Inugami A, Uemura K, Yasui N
Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Research Institute of Brain and
Blood Vessels--Akita, Japan.
Title
Cerebral aneurysms: evaluation with three-dimensional CT angiography.
Source
AJNR Am J Neuroradiol 1996 Mar;17(3):447-454
Abstract
PURPOSE: To evaluate the usefulness of three-dimensional CT angiography (CTA),
in which contrast material is used to create reformations of dynamic scans, in the
diagnosis and the preoperative evaluation of cerebral aneurysms. METHODS: We
used 3-D CTA to examine 65 patients with suspected or angiographically verified
cerebral aneurysms. A blind study was performed to evaluate the diagnostic
accuracy of 3-D CTA for cerebral aneurysms with the use of conventional
angiography as the reference standard. RESULTS: In 50 patients, conventional
angiography revealed 73 cerebral aneurysms ranging from 2 to 32 mm in
maximum diameter. Three of the 73 cerebral aneurysms were located outside the
imaging volume of 3-D CTA. The sensitivities of the two neuroradiologists for the
remaining 70 aneurysms were 67% and 70%, respectively. Although 3-D CTA
depicted cerebral aneurysms 5 mm or larger with good accuracy, it was less useful
for the detection of smaller aneurysms. For the evaluation of giant aneurysms, this
technique elucidated the relationships among the aneurysm, surrounding arteries,
and neighboring bone structure. CONCLUSION: Three-dimensional CTA is useful
for the diagnosis of cerebral aneurysms with diameters of 5 mm or more. This
technique is especially useful in the preoperative evaluation of giant aneurysms.