CT Perfusion Imaging Predicts One-Month Outcome in Patients with Acute Spontaneous Hypertensive Intracerebral Hemorrhage

Purpose: Little is known about the relationship between perihematomal perfusion parameters in acute spontaneous hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage patients and recent outcome. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between the perfusion parameters of the perihematomal brain tissue and the recent prognosis of patients with acute spontaneous hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage (shICH) using CT perfusion (CTP) imaging. Methods: Twenty-six patients with clinical and CT diagnosed supratentorial shICH received CTP scanning within 8 - 19 h after symptom onset. At the maximum levels of the hematoma, cerebral blood flow (CBF), cerebral blood volume (CBV) and mean transit time (MTT) of perihematomal area (isodense within 1cm rim of perilesion area on plain CT) and contralateral mirrored hemisphere were measured, and rCBF, rCBV, rMTT were calculated (ipsilateral/contralateral). The one-month follow-up in accordance with daily living table (Barthel index, BI) by telephone was recorded. Results: The CBV, CBF, and MTT values of perihematoma area were (1.61 ± 1.53) ml·100 g-1, (16.48 ± 12.58) ml·100 g-1·min-1, and (9.12 ± 2.57) s, respectively. (For more information,please refer to the PDF)

Evaluation of multislice computed tomographic perfusion imaging and computed tomographic angiography on traumatic cerebral infarction

Objective： To evaluate the application value of multislice computed tomographic perfusion imaging （MSCTPI） and multislice computed tomographic angiography （MSCTA） on traumatic cerebral infarction. Methods： MSCTA was performed on 10 patients who were initiailly diagnosed as traumatic cerebral infarction by normal conventional computed tomography （NCCT）, among whom, 3 patients were examined by MSCTPI simultaneously. Reconstructed images of the intracranial artery were made with techniques of maximum intensity projection （MIP） and volume rendering （VR） from MSCTA scanning data. Then the graph of function of four parameters, regional cerebral blood flow （rCBF）, regional cerebral blood volume （rCBV）, mean transit time （MTT）, and time to peak （TTP）, acquired by the perfusing analysis software was obtained. Results： Among the 10 patients with traumatic cerebral infarction, 6 showed complex type on NCCT, which depicted abnormality on MSCTA, and 4 showed simple type on NCCT, which had negative results on MSCTA. Among the 4 patients with abnormal great vessels, 2 suffered from stenosis or occlusion of the middle cerebral artery, 1 from spasm of the anterior cerebral artery, and 1 from spasm of the vertebral-basal artery. The image of MSCTPI of 1 patient with massive cerebral infarction on the right cerebral hemisphere confirmed by CT was smaller than those of the other patients, which showed occlusion of the ipsilateral middle cerebral artery on MSCTA, Among the 6 patients whose MSCTA showed no abnormality, 4 showed simple infarction and 2 showed complex infarction. The infarction focus of 5 patients occurred in the basal ganglia and 1 in the splenium of corpus callosum. Among the 2 cases of small cerebral infarction volume on NCCT, one was normal, the other showed hypoperfusion on MSCTPI and was normal on MSCTA. Conclusion： The combination of MSCTPI and MSCTA is very useful for evaluating the change of intracranial artery in ischemic regions and assessing the cerebral hemodynamic information of traumatic cerebral infarction.

Cerebral artery evaluation of dual energy CT angiography with dual source CT

Background Conventional computed tomography angiography （CTA） is time consuming, user-dependent and has poor image quality in skull base region. This study assessed the feasibility of a new method, dual energy CTA for depicting the cerebral artery.Methods Phantom scan was done with head CTA sequences on dual source CT and 64 spiral CT for radiation dose calculation. Dual energy CTA was done with dual source CT on 36 patients who were suspected of having cerebral vascular disease. Three series axial images in 0.75 mm thick, 0.4 mm increment were acquired, which were named with 80 kV, 140 kV and merged images; 80 kV and 140 kV images were transferred into dual energy software, and maximum intensity projection （MIP） image was generated quickly by dual energy bone remove （DEBR group）; merged images were transferred into In Space software to acquire MIP image through manual conventional bone remove （CoBR group）. Post processing time and reading time were compared. Image qualities of the two groups were compared, mainly focusing on skull base segments of internal carotid artery and bone subtraction. ANOVA and SNK tests were applied for radiation dose comparison. Student＇s t test and Wilcoxon rank sum test were applied for assessing differences between data for significance. Cohen＇s kappa was used for interobserver agreement. Results Radiation dose of phantom scan showed dual energy CTA was between digital bone subtraction and conventional CTA. The post processing time and reading time were much shorter in DEBR than CoBR, and image quality in skull base was much higher in DEBR than CoBR （P〈0.01）. There was no significant difference for suprasellar vessels between two groups （P〉0.5）. Interobserver agreement for all vessel segments was excellent （kappa=0.97）. Conclusions Dual energy CTA is a reliable, new modality for depicting cerebral artery, overcoming the limitation of conventional CTA in the skull base region. It can save much time in post processing and reading than conventional CTA.

Hemiparesis in carotid cavernous fistulas (CCFs): a case report and review of the literature

Carotid-cavernous fistulas (CCFs) are abnormal arteriovenous anastamoses between the carotid artery and the cavernous sinus. These fistulas may be classified by cause (spontaneous or traumatic), flow velocity (high or low), or pathogenesis (direct or indirect). The most commonly adopted classification is that described by Barrow based on arterial supply. Traumatic CCFs are almost always direct shunts between the internal carotid artery (ICA) and the cavernous sinus. General features of CCFs, which may be apparent with any lesion, including bruit, headache, loss of vision, altered mental status and neurological deficits. Some fistulae may present primarily with hemorrhage before any evaluation can be performed. However, hemiparesis has been rarely observed. Only a literature review of Murata et al reported a case of hemiparesis caused by posttraumatic CCF, in which the fistula resulted in venous hypertension and subsequent brainstem congestion. While in our case, cerebral infarction was caused by total steal of the blood flow. The patient recovered after occlusion of the fistula with a detachable balloon.