title: Accuracy of computed tomography angiography in detecting the underlying vascular abnormalities for spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage: a comparative study and meta-analysis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Computed tomography angiography (CTA) is a rapid, non-invasive procedure with a small risk for evaluating patients with various types of strokes. But the effectiveness of CTA in detecting the etiology of spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (SICH) has not been well established.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the diagnostic value of CTA for detecting underlying vascular abnormalities in patients with SICH.
  
  
  METHODS
  This is a comparative study to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of CTA and digital subtraction angiography (DSA) in SICH. We also did a meta-analysis, combining our results with those of all previous studies to determine a more precise estimate of CTA in detecting the etiology of SICH..
  
  
  METHODS
  Between July 2009 and October 2011, CTA and DSA were routinely performed in consecutive young patients (age between 18 and 45 years) with acute non-hypertensive SICH. Imaging data were prospectively stored in the database for analysis.
  
  
  METHODS
  The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive values (PPV), negative predictive values (NPV), and accuracy were used for evaluating the diagnostic value of CTA for vascular lesion.
  
  
  RESULTS
  This study included 92 patients. The sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, and accuracy of CTA for detecting DSA-positive pathologies were 94.6%, 100%, 100%, 96.5%, and 97.8%, respectively. A total of 544 cases were included for meta-analysis. The pooled sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, and accuracy of CTA for detecting the etiology in SICH were 95.4%, 98.3%, 96.9%, 97.4%, and 97.2%, respectively. There was no substantial heterogeneity between the studies.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  CTA has high PPV and NPV for vascular pathologies. It should be performed as the initial vascular investigation for patients with acute SICH. Future technical advancement of CTA is still needed to eliminate the false-negative results.
authors: Department of Neurosurgery, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
authors: Junpeng
authors: J
authors: Ma
authors: Hao
authors: H
authors: Li
authors: Chao
authors: C
authors: You
authors: Siqing
authors: S
authors: Huang
authors: Lu
authors: L
authors: Ma
authors: Chengcheng
authors: C
authors: Ieong
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015901:Angiography, Digital Subtraction / Q000379:methods*; D002536:Cerebral Arteries / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D002543:Cerebral Hemorrhage / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002550:Cerebral Veins / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012372:ROC Curve; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods*; D055815:Young Adult