Clinical application value of DSA for patients with ischemic stroke complicated by vertebrobasilar dolichoectasia

Objective To investigate the clinical value of digital subtraction angiography (DSA) for patients with ischemic stroke complicated by vertebrobasilar dolichoectasia (VBD). Methods A total of 100 patients with ischemic stroke complicated by VBD who were treated in Jiangmen People’s Hospital from March 2017 to May 2018 were selected as research objects. All enrolled patients underwent DSA, and the examination results were observed and recorded. Results The 100 patients with ischemic stroke and VBD had good vertebral basilar artery visualization by DSA, showing obvious tortuosity, vertebral basilar artery diameter 4.5-18.0 mm, vertebral artery length 20.0-35.0 mm, basilar artery length 25.0-50.0 mm. It also showed that the vertebral basilar artery offset distance was 3.0-18.0 mm. Thirty-four were with simple basilar artery disease; 66 cases were with vertebral artery and basilar artery combined lesions, of which 17 cases were complicated by aneurysm: Seventy-three cases had slow basilar artery flow, of which 22 cases were caused by local contrast agent retention, 4 cases were with cystic artery tumor, and 4 cases were complicated by vascular dissection. Conclusions DSA examination for patients with ischemic stroke and VBD can clearly show the morphology and direction of vertebrobasilar artery disease, by vohich it is easy to observe the hemodynamic changes in the varicose vessels and improve the detection rate of disease, so that it can provide a reliable basis for the choice of treatment options. Key words: Ischemic stroke; Vertebrobasilar dolichoectasia; Digital subtraction angiography