title: Common carotid artery bifurcation: evaluation with spiral CT. Work in progress.
abstract: To determine the utility of spiral computed tomography (CT) in evaluation of carotid artery stenosis, spiral CT images of 20 patients were compared with images obtained with conventional angiography (20 patients), ultrasound (US) (15 patients), and magnetic resonance (MR) angiography (six patients). The category of stenosis was determined for each internal carotid artery on the basis of the percentage of narrowing: mild = less than 30%, moderate = 30%-69%, and severe = 70%-99%. Occlusions were also noted. The degree of carotid stenosis determined with spiral CT correlated with that determined with conventional angiography in 92% of cases, with that determined with US in 97% of cases, and with that determined with MR angiography in 100% of cases. Calcifications and large ulcers were also well delineated. Spiral CT provided an accurate anatomic depiction of the carotid bifurcation, which could be helpful in preoperative evaluation. The major disadvantage of the technique was the need to postprocess data to remove veins, calcifications, and bone structures from the images.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School.
authors.forename: R B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Schwartz
authors.forename: K M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Chernoff
authors.forename: S K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Mukherji
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Khorasani
authors.forename: H M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Tice
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kikinis
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Hooton
authors.forename: P E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Stieg
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Polak
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000792:Angiography; D001161:Arteriosclerosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D002114:Calcinosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D017536:Carotid Artery, Common / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D016893:Carotid Stenosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D003287:Contrast Media; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods; D014463:Ultrasonography
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media