Intracranial carotid calcification on CT images as an indicator of atheromatous plaque: analysis of high-resolution CTA images using a 64-multidetector scanner

Abstract

Intracranial arterial wall calcifications are frequently observed on routine head computed tomography (CT) images. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether calcification of the intracranial carotid artery on CT images could predict atheromatous plaque and luminal stenosis. A total of 259 patients were examined using three-dimensional CT angiography using high-resolution 64 detector scanners. We examined patients from the petrous portion to the top of the internal carotid arteries. We evaluated the existence of calcification and atheromatous plaque based on our criteria retrospectively. The thickness of calcification was measured in each vessel, and the shape of calcification was classified into three types. There was low correlation between the thickness of the calcification and luminal stenosis, but the shape of the calcification corresponded well to the stenosis. The population of patients with >50% stenosis of the intracranial carotid artery differed statistically significantly for each calcification shape. There was a high negative predictive value (97.7%) in the correlation between the existence of calcification and atheromatous plaque on the multidetector CT images. Calcification of the intracranial carotid artery on CT images shows a high negative predictive value for the existence of atheromatous plaque in the same artery. The thickness of the calcification did not correlate well with luminal stenosis, but its shape seemed to predict luminal stenosis.