Background: This study was performed to evaluate the protocols of electron beam tomographic angiography and three-dimensional reconstruction for assessing the diagnostic value of aortic diseases.
Experimental design: Retrospective and comparative study.
Settings: University hospital.
Patients: Between 1996 and 1998, 189 cases who underwent electron beam tomographic angiography and diagnosed with aortic diseases were analyzed retrospectively. The results were compared with surgical and pathological findings in 68 cases. Electron beam tomographic angiography was used single-slice-scanning with ECG-triggering for screening of the thoracic aorta, continuous-volume-scanning, permitted by continuous X-ray exposure with table incremention, was performed for the abdominal aorta scanning without ECG-triggering. Three-dimensional reconstructions were performed with shaded-surface display, multiplanar reformatting and/or maximum intensity projection methods.
Results: Electron beam tomography angiography with ECG-triggered sections of single-slice-scanning improved the image quality of the ascending aorta without motion artifacts. Continuous-volume-scanning was suitable for screening of the abdominal aorta because of minimizing exposure time (10-14 sec) and saving contrast media (total contrast material of 45.5+/-6.6 ml was needed). One hundred eighty-nine cases were diagnosed with aortic dissection (97 cases), aortic aneurysm (26 cases), pseudoaneurysm (8 cases), Marfan's syndrome (39 cases), Takayasu's arteritis (5 cases) and congenital aortic malformations (14 cases). Electron beam tomography results were compared with the findings of surgery (as gold standard) in 68 cases, the diagnostic accuracy was 97% (2 cases with aortic aneurysm were erroneously diagnosed with pseudoaneurysm).
Conclusions: Electrocardiographically triggered, contrast-enhanced electron beam tomography is feasible for the diagnosis of all kinds of aortic diseases, with excellent three-dimensional images competitive in quality with conventional selective aortic angiography or digital subtraction angiography.