Spiral CT angiography of extracranial carotid artery (report of 45 cases)

Objective To evaluate spiral computed tomography(CT) angiography in the diagnosis of extracranial carotid artery disease. Methods Fortyfive patients referred for evaluation of carotid artery diseases were studied. Beginning with editing the source images threedimensional MaxIP and SSD images were reconstructed. Of the fortyfive patients, five had digital subtraction angiography (DSA) examination within one week time. Results CT angiography of extracranial carotid artery demonstrated 55 normal vessels, 31 stenotic vessels, 2 occluded vessels, 1 internal carotid aneurysm, and 1 carotid body tumor. The diagnosis of the five patients who had DSA examinations correlated well with CT angiography. Conclusions CT angiography can noninvasively provide most of the information about carotid artery disease at its bifurcation.