Evaluation of intracranial aneurysms using dual-source computed tomographic angiography and digital subtraction angiography

Abstract

To compare the values of dual-source computed tomographic angiography (DSCTA) and digital subtraction angiography (DSA) in evaluating intracranial aneurysms in patients with nontraumatic subarachnoid hemorrhages (SAH) . Totally 80 nontraumatic SAH patients were evaluated with both DSCTA and DSA. With the results of DSA as the gold standards, the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of DSCTA was calculated, and the agreement between these two modes was analyzed. A total of 73 aneurysms were detected by DSCTA in 65 patients, 74 aneurysms were detected by DSA in 63 patients. 2 cases were false positive and 3 aneurysms were missed by DSCTA. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of DSCTA were 95.5%, 88.2%, and 94% on a per-patient basis and were 95.9%, 88.2%, and 94.5% on a per-aneurysm basis. For patients with nontraumatic SAH, DSCTA and DSA have comparable abilities in detecting and displaying aneurysms.