The following is a summary of “Preliminary findings on diagnostic performance of computed tomography perfusion images for intracranial arterial stenosis: a retrospective study,” published in the February 2024 issue of Neurology by Liu et al.
Researchers started a retrospective study to assess the combined use of computed tomographic angiography (CTA) and computed tomographic perfusion (CTP) images in diagnosing large/medium-artery blockages in patients with asymptomatic intracranial stenosis, evaluating both accuracy and interpretation time.
They examined the diagnostic efficacy of head CTP images for detecting intracranial arterial stenosis in 39 asymptomatic patients (January 2021 to August 2023) who underwent head CTP, CTA, and digital subtraction angiography (DSA). Head CTA images were derived from CTP data, and diagnostic accuracy for each artery was evaluated. Two readers independently analyzed CTA images pre- and post-CTP, with subsequent analysis of the results.
The results showed CTP maps improved AUC in diagnosing internal carotid artery (R1: 0.847 vs 0.907, R2: 0.776 vs 0.887), middle cerebral artery (R1: 0.934 vs 0.933, R2: 0.927 vs 0.981), anterior cerebral artery (R1: 0.625 vs 0.750, R2: 0.609 vs 0.750), vertebral artery (R1: 0.743 vs 0.764, R2: 0.748 vs 0.846), and posterior cerebral artery (R1: 0.390 vs 0.575, R2: 0.390 vs 0.585) occlusions for both readers (P<0.05). The mean interpretation time decreased (R1: 72.4 ± 6.1 s vs 67.7 ± 6.4 s, R2: 77.7 ± 3.8 s vs 72.6 ± 4.7 s) with combined image use for both readers (P<0.001).
They concluded that combining CTP with CTA enhanced diagnostic accuracy and sped up the interpretation of asymptomatic intracranial arterial stenosis, suggesting its potential clinical value.
Source: bmcneurol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12883-024-03554-x
