title: [Diagnosis and follow-up of cervical arterial dissections--results of the SFNV-SFNR study].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  the objective of this study was to determine the role of radiological techniques in the diagnosis, assessment of severity and follow-up of cervical arterial dissections.
  
  
  METHODS
  from 1995 to 2001 a multicentre retrospective study was conducted in 24 hospital centers. A multiple-choice questionnaire was sent to each center in order to collect clinical information and imaging details regarding the diagnosis and follow-up of cervical arterial dissections.
  
  
  RESULTS
  information was gathered on 459 patients, comprising a total of 384 carotid artery dissections and 170 vertebral artery dissections. A mean of 4.85 diagnostic examinations per patient were conducted. Morphological imaging of the brain by CT or by MRI was performed on all except 3 patients. Cervical Doppler ultrasound examination was the most frequently performed test throughout the entire study period (performed in 87% of patients). Conventional arteriography was a routinely employed test in 1995 whereas by 2001 it comprised only 31.2% of requested examinations, having been progressively replaced by MRI and MRA scanning, which comprised 60% of all examinations performed by 2001. A combination of cervical Doppler ultrasonography, axial MRI and MRA of the neck vessels were performed in 39.6% of patients in 2001. Examination of the intracranial vessels was performed by transcranial Doppler ultrasound in 40% of cases and by MRA in 30% of cases. For the follow-up of arterial dissections, an average of 1.4 examinations was performed per patient. The majority of such follow-up examinations comprised Doppler ultrasound and/or MRA of the neck arteries.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The imaging diagnosis and follow-up of cervical arterial dissections will increasingly rely on non-invasive imaging techniques.
authors.affiliation: Service de Neuroradiologie, Bd E. Laine, Hôpital Roger Salengro, 59037 Lille, France.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Charbonneau
authors.forename: J Y
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Gauvrit
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Touze
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Moulin
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bracard
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Leclerc
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Mas
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Meder
mesh_terms: D020215:Carotid Artery, Internal, Dissection / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D011859:Radiography / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D020217:Vertebral Artery Dissection / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*