Turkish Neurosurgery 1998 , Vol 8 , Num 3-4
THE RELIABILITY OF HYPERDENSE FILLINGS ON INFUSION COMPUTERIZED TOMOGRAPHY OF PATIENTS WITH INTRACRANIAL ANEURYSMS
Serhat ERBAYRAKTAR, E. Metin GÜNER, Ümit D. ACAR, Zafer YÜKSEL
Dokuz Eylül University School of Medicine Department of Neurosurgery, Izmir, Turkey Computerized tomography is highly reliable in the diagnosis of subarachnoid haemorrhage, especially during the first week. When contrast material is administered, it is also possible to demonstrate an aneurysm. In this retrospective study, we looked for any relationship between hyperdense fillings on infusion computerized tomographic scans and angiographic aneurysm size since it could be helpful in making a decision for an angiogram on a patient with a possible incidental aneurysm or a suspicious warning leak. In addition, the demonstration of the presence of a ruptured aneurysm in a moribund patient with intracerebral haematoma could lead to simultaneous elippage and haematoma removal at the same stage. We investigated 120 patients with an angiographically proven aneurysm. The sizes of the aneurysms were in a positive correlation with the hyperdense computerized tomographic fillings. The size of the aneurysm was important especially in anterior communicating and middle cerebral artery aneurysms for computerized tomographic demonstration. Best correlations were observed in aneurysms greater than 16.0 mm in diameter. The accuracy of angiographic detection of an aneurysm in 96 patients with hyperdense CT fillings was 94%. Keywords : Cerebral aneurysm, infusion computed tomography, subarachnoid haemorrhage
Corresponding author : Metin Güner