ABSTRACT

To investigate the diagnostic accuracy of spiral CT angiography (CTA) in detection of cerebral aneurysms in cases with acute subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH).

Spiral CT angiography and DSA examinations were performed in 32 cases due to non-traumatic SAH. CTA data were obtained by maximum intensity projection (MIP) method. CTA and DSA findings were evaluated and compared in terms of existence of aneurysm, size and location.

In 32 patients, DSA detected 34 aneurysms with diameters ranging from 3 to 13 mm while four cases were free of aneurysms. With CTA, an aneurysm at anterior communicating artery location could not be demonstrated. In all other cases CTA correlated well with DSA in detecting the site, size and orientation of the aneurysms. It was found that CTA sensitivity was 97% and specificity was 100% in diagnosis of intracranial aneurysms.

Spiral CTA is a highly accurate, cheap and non-invasive imaging method in diagnosis of intracranial aneurysms in cases with SAH and can be used as a safe alternative method to DSA when emergency surgery is needed.

Keywords: intracranial aneurysm, subarachnoid hemorrhage, tomography, spiral computed