Pitfalls in the Detection of Intracranial Aneurysms With 3-Dimensional 64-Multidetector CT Angiography

CME Category: Neuroradiology Modality: CT Diagnosing intracranial aneurysms is a challenging task for radiologists. Currently, rotational cerebral angiography is the “gold standard” for detecting intracranial aneurysms.1 But because rotational cerebral angiography is an invasive procedure with potential complications, CT angiography (CTA) with volume-rendered 3-dimensional (3D) reconstruction has been suggested as a promising alternative for the initial evaluation of the intracranial circulation. However, even this latter modality is less than perfect, and the radiologist can benefit from the information provided in this CME activity by realizing the limitations when interpreting images based on CTA/3D reconstruction. The limitations are outlined in Table 1. By addressing these limitations, the radiologist potentially can avoid pitfalls that would otherwise cause misdiagnosis of intracranial vascular lesions.