THE IMPORTANCE OF COMPUTER TOMOGRAPHY ANGIOGRAPHY IN THE MANAGEMENT OF ACUTE ISCHEMIC STROKE
Abstract:
There are various imaging modalities for diagnosing acute ischemic stroke. However,
computer tomography angiography (CTA) has the main advantage of being non invasive. We review the
CTA technique and illustrate from our cases various types of lesions: vascular loops, aneurism, ulcers,
and distal obstructions of internal carotid artery (ICA). CTA depicts intimately the plaque morphology.
Moreover, CTA permits differentiating true occlusion from pseudo-occlusion. The degree of occlusion is
evaluated with high accuracy on maximum intensity projection (MIP) reconstructions. On the other
hand shaded surface display (SSD) reconstructions are used for visualizing the complete anatomy of the
obstruction. We address the limitations of this technique along with possible recommendations for
overcoming them. There is need for current standard revision on imaging use in vascular pathology
management along with a more precise use of CTA in order to manage stroke patients cost efficient
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