Application of 3D-CTA in diagnosing intracranial aneurysms patients with acute subarachnoid hemorrhage

Objective To investigate the application of three-dimensional multislice helical CT angiography(3D-CTA)in the diagnosis of cerebral aneurysms in the patients with acute subarachnoid hemorrhage(SAH).Methods 3D-CTA and digital subtraction angiography(DSA)examinations were performed in 26 SAH cases.3D-CTA data were obtained by maximum intensity projection(MIP), shaded surface display(SSD)and volume rendering technique(VRT).3D-CTA and DSA findings were evaluated and compared in aspects of number,location and size of aneurysms.Results In the 24 patients,3D-CTA detected 27 aneurysms with diameters ranging from 3 to 21 mm,while 1 case was found free of aneurysm and 1 posterior communicating artery aneurysm was not demonstrated by 3D-CTA.DSA was performed in 14 cases,among which 1 case was found to have an aneurysm by 3D-CTA not by DSA,and 1 case of right vertebral artery aneurysm was also showed by 3D-CTA not by DSA because the right vertebral artery angiography was failure.The other 12 cases underwent only 3D-CTA.3D-CTA was superior to DSA in displaying the site,size and orientation of the aneurysms and showing the parent artery and its branches.3D-CTA sensitivity was 96% and specificity was 100% in the diagnosis of intracranial aneurysms. Conclusion 3D-CTA is a highly accurate, cheap and non-invasive imaging method in the diagnosis of intracranial aneurysms in cases with SAH and can be used as a safe alternative method to DSA,especially during the emergency surgery.