Analysis of the value of head and neck CTA in diagnosing arterial stenosis in acute ischemic stroke

ZHANG Xiaowei; HUANG Hui; YAO Xintong; ZHOU Wanyue; LONG Susheng

Abstract：Objective To explore the value of head and neck CT angiography(CTA)in diagnosing the degree of arterial ste-nosis in acute ischemic stroke(AIS).Methods 97 AIS patients all underwent head and neck CTA and digital subtraction angi-ography(DSA)examinations,with DSA results as the gold standard.We assessed the degree of carotid artery stenosis in the pa-tient and recorded the accuracy,sensitivity,and specificity of head and neck CTA in assessing the degree of carotid artery steno-sis.Pearson analysis was used to examine the correlation between head and neck CTA and DSA in diagnosing the degree of ca-rotid artery stenosis.Results Among 97 patients with cerebral infarction,41 patients with normal to mild stenosis and 56 pa-tients with moderate to severe stenosis were detected by DSA gold standard examination.The accuracy of CTA examination for moderate to severe stenosis in the head and neck was 96.43%.The sensitivity and specificity of head and neck CTA in diagnosing moderate to severe carotid artery stenosis were 92.86%and 95.12%,respectively.According to Pearson analysis,there was a positive correlation between head and neck CTA and DSA diagnosis of carotid artery stenosis(P<0.05).The number of plaques in the moderate to severe stenosis group were higher in normal to mild stenosis group,and the plaque length was higher in normal to mild stenosis group.The plaque thickness was smaller in normal to mild stenosis group(P<0.05).Conclusion Head and neck CTA has good value in evaluating the degree of carotid artery stenosis in AIS patients,with high diagnostic accuracy,sensi-tivity,and specificity,which is worth of clinical reference.