American Journal of Neuroradiology, Vol 12, Issue 5 819-826, Copyright © 1991 by American Society of Neuroradiology
ARTICLES |
Assessment of carotid artery patency on routine spin-echo MR imaging of the brain
JI Lane, AE Flanders, HT Doan and RD Bell
Department of Radiology, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia, PA 19107.
We retrospectively reviewed the routine spin-echo MR studies of the brain in 12 patients with 13 angiographically demonstrated occlusions and in 14 patients with 16 high-grade stenoses of the carotid arteries. Intraluminal signal that was isointense with adjacent brain on long TR/short TE and long TR/long TE images was 100% specific for atherosclerotic occlusion. Of the 13 proved occlusions, six (46%) had significant degrees of hyperintense intraluminal signal indistinguishable from that observed consequent to slow flow distal to high-grade stenoses. MR detected only five (31%) of the 16 proved high- grade stenoses. Normal flow void does not exclude significant extracranial carotid stenosis. Occlusion cannot always be distinguished from high-grade stenosis when hyperintense intraluminal signal is encountered. However, a reliable diagnosis of atherosclerotic occlusion can be made when isointense intraluminal signal is observed.
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