Clinical Significance of the 16-slice Spiral CT Angiography in Aortic Dissection

Objective:To investigate the clinical significance of the 16-slice spiral CT angiography (SCTA) in the diagnosis and treatment of aortic dissection.Methods:Pre-and post-contrast CT scanning with 16-slice spiral CT (SCT) of chest and abdomen were performed in 27 patients with aortic dissection.Post-processing techniques including multi-planar reformation (MPR),maximum intensity projection (MIP),volume rendering (VR) and surface shaded display (SSD) were undertaken.The main attention was put on the true and false lumen,intimal flap,entry of intimal tear and the involvement of branches of aortic dissection.Results:The original axial images preserved the most reliable and fundamental information.Images obtained by different reformation and reconstruction techniques had different characteristics.The whole aorta and its branches in these 27 patients were displayed satisfactorily by 16-slice SCTA.Aortic dissection was assessed in 27 cases,with true and false lumen (27 cases,100%),intimal flaps (27 cases,100%),entry of intimal tear (24 cases,88.9%) and thrombosed false lumen (9 cases,30%). Conclusion:16-slice SCT angiography can fully display the anatomic details of aortic dissection,which is therefore of important clinical significance for the diagnosis and treatment.