Experiment comparative study of CTA and DSA in detecting delayed cerebral vasospasm in rabbit model

Objective: To analyze the accuracy, sensitivity and safety of multidetector CT angiography (MDCTA)and DSA; furthermore to explore the clinical value of MDCTA in studying the delayed cerebral vasospasm (DCVS). Methods: Delayed cerebral vasospasm was induced in 17 rabbits by injection of autologuous blood into the cisterna magna and followed by a second injection 24 hours later. MDCTA and DSA were carried out at the 7th day before and after the procedure in order to obtain the data of vascular diameter changes for comparative study. Results: The basilar artery diameters detected by MDCTA were shown preoperatively as (1.55 ± 0.14) mm and postoperatively as (0.95 ± 0.20) mm; and detected by DSA as (1.61 ± 0.19) mm and (1.00 ± 0.17) mm postoperatively; showing statistically equivalence between the two methods. Conclusions: MDCTA is recommended as a reliable, rapid, and minimally invasive diagnostic method, providing a new technique for the delayed cerebral vasospasm research. (authors)