Detection of intracranial aneurysms with multislice CT: comparison with conventional angiography

Abstract

We assessed the diagnostic accuracy of multislice CT in detection of intracranial aneurysms in patients presenting with subarachnoid or intracranial haemorrhage. Multislice CT and multiplanar digital subtraction angiography (DSA) images were obtained in 50 consecutive patients presenting with subarachnoid (SAH) and/or intracranial haemorrhage and reviewed by three neuroradiologists for the number, size and site of any aneurysms. The CT data were assessed using multiplanar reformats (MPR), maximum-intensity projections (MIP), surface-shaded display (SSD) and volume-rendering (VRT). In conventional angiography 51 aneurysms were detected in 41 patients. CT angiography (CTA) showed up to 48 aneurysms in 39 patients, depending on the observer. The overall sensitivity of multislice CT was 83.3% for small (< 4 mm), 90.6% for medium-size (5-12 mm) and 100% for large (> 13 mm) aneurysms. The sensitivity of multislice CTA to medium-size and large intracranial aneurysm is within the upper part of the range reported for helical single-slice CT. However, as small aneurysms may not be found, DSA remains the standard technique for investigation of SAH.