MDCT diagnostic work-up of patients with subarachnoid haemorrhage

Full text: Our presentation is intended to analyze our experience over the last two years, in the expeditious work up of patients with subarachnoid haemorrhage, as well as patients whose clinical symptoms combined with radiological findings are highly suspicious of an aneurysm, acute arterial occlusion, cerebral vascular malformation, venous occlusion, dissection of the internal carotid artery or vertebral artery. 276 CT Angiographies of the brain have been performed and recorded over the last two years in our Department, on a 16 Detector Philips MX8000IDT Computed Tomograph. The patients are referred to our Department from the Emergency Department of our Hospital, as well as from Hospitals all over Northwestern Greece. The CT Angiographies are performed with examination protocols, which we will analyze thoroughly in our presentation. The primary data are then studied in workstations away from the main console of the Computed Tomograph. The study of the primary data consists in multiplanar reconstructions with the Maximum Intensity Algorithm, as well as Volume Rendering and three Dimensional Reconstruction. The stages we follow for these procedures will be presented as well as the procedures for the removal of bone structures, with the intention of the best possible angiographic results. Of the 276 patients 40 were diagnosed with an aneurysm,19 with a venous angioma, 2 with a vascular malformation, 3 with venous occlusion and 2 with dissection, a total of 66/276 with aneurysms and vascular malformations. These patients were subsequently referred to the Neurosurgery Clinic or to the Department of Interventional Radiology for further treatment. The remaining 210 patients, underwent in the following days of their hospitalization a Digital Subtraction Angiography, and in 16 (7.6%) of them a small aneurysm, 3-5 mm was diagnosed. The aneurysm was detected in a second reading of the CT Angiography in 8 patients (3.8%). The CT Angiography in patients with subarachnoid haemorrhage, performed in the new MDCT Computed Tomographs (16 Detectors), is a fast, minimally invasive, well tolerated, and a diagnostic method gradually gaining international recognition by radiologists as well as by clinical doctors, especially as the experience of radiologists in the method is increasing. Digital Subtraction Angiography still remains the Gold Standard method of examination, the trend though appears to be in favor for MDCT Angiography. We are anxiously awaiting for the primary results from the newest 64 Detector and 256 Detector Computed Tomographs