Computed Tomography Angiography Compared to Catheter Based Angiography in Evaluation of Cerebral Arterial Aneurysm and Arteriovenous Malformation

Both cerebral arterial aneurysm and arteriovenous malformation are cerebrovascular disease, which required immediate diagnosis and urgent treatment. Since the introduction of multislice CT scanners, CT angiography (CTA) has become a powerful tool for imaging the vascular system. The goal of this study is to compare catheter based angiography and CTA in the evaluation of cerebral arterial aneurysm and arteriovenous malformation AVM. A retrospective analysis of 50 patients for exploring the record of patient who underwent both multislice CT angiography (MSCTA) and catheter based angiography before treatment is presented during last one year in the department of Radiology, King Fahd Hospital-Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The sensitivity of CTA for picking up aneurysm is 86% and the sensitivity of catheter based angiography for picking up aneurysm is 97%. The specificity of CTA for picking up aneurysm is (76%), the false positive cases are (3%) and the false negative cases are 10%. The sensitivity of both CTA and catheter based angiography for picking up arteriovenous malformation is (90%). The specificity of CTA for picking up AVM is (76%), the false positive cases are (10%) and no false negative cases in CTA are found. The sensitivity and specificity of catheter based angiography is 100% in diagnosis and detection of cerebral arterial aneurysm and AVM. The present study concluded that CTA has high sensitivity and specificity in detecting aneurysm and AVM enough to be chosen as the first step. Catheter based angiography, still a gold standard for radiology examination, is the most accurate, sensitive and specific method in diagnosis and detection of cerebral arterial aneurysm and arteriovenous malformation, which can be done as the second step. In addition, catheter based angiography is done for treatment planning, treatment with interventional procedure and for prognosis after treatment.