Emergency radiology
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Emergency radiology · Feb 2015
Case ReportsIntraoperative 3D rotational angiography: an emergency tool for the diagnosis of intracranial aneurysms.
It was the objective of this report to present a case of recurrent aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) and intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) in which an MCA aneurysm was detected by 3D rotational fluoroscopy in an emergency situation. A 44-year-old woman was admitted from an external department after repeated SAH and temporal ICH. Due to progressive anisocoria and cardiocirculatory instability, she was transferred to the operating room without angiography. ⋯ The entire procedure from positioning of the fluoroscope to the production of utilizable 3D images was completely integrated into the surgical workflow with an image acquisition time of 2 × 24 s. The configuration of the aneurysm, the aneurysm-carrying vessel, and the distal vessel anatomy were well assessable. This technique quickly supplies images at adequate quality to assess the configuration of an intracranial aneurysm and is a useful diagnostic tool if the patient's critical condition prohibits aneurysm diagnostics by angiography or CT angiography.
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Emergency radiology · Feb 2015
Can non-contrast-enhanced CT (NECT) triage patients suspected of having non-traumatic acute aortic syndromes (AAS)?
This work was conducted to determine whether non-contrast-enhanced CT (NECT) of patients with suspected acute aortic syndrome (AAS) can identify patients with a very low likelihood of a positive diagnosis. In the derivation phase, patients who received both NECT and contrast-enhanced CT angiography (CTA) for suspected AAS were identified. Two readers blinded to CTA results analyzed NECTs from AAS positive and negative cases, recording maximal aortic diameters and qualitative findings of aortic disease. ⋯ The decision rule incorporating these findings achieved higher mean sensitivity (93 %), negative predictive value (96 %), and moderate reader agreement (kappa = 0.59). For the validation phase, application of the decision rule to 35 AAS positive and 45 AAS negative cases at the second institution yielded sensitivity of 100 % and specificity of 74 % for both readers. NECT can identify patients with a very low likelihood of AAS and potentially mitigate the urgency of performing CTA.