Imaging Studies, Atherosclerotic Aortic Disease

Objective: To evaluate the clinical value of electron beam computed tomography (EBCT) in the diagnosis of atherosclerotic aortic diseases.Methods: A retrospective study was performed during a period of time from January 2004 to December 2004. One hundred and 1 consecutive patients with atherosclerotic aortic diseases who had been undergone EBCT scans were studied. In this group 101 patients(69 men and 32 women, aged from 40~83 years, mean 65.74 ±9.25 years) had been undergone EBCT and diagnosed with atherosclerotic aortic diseases. EBCT scanner was used with a model of Imatron C-150XP. Contrasted enhanced continuous volume scanning (CVS) was performed. The slice thickness was 6mm or 3mm with a acquisition time of 100 milliseconds. The total amount of contrast media (Ultravist 300 or 320, or Ominpaque 300 or 320 mg/ml) of 80~100ml was used with the rate of 3.5~4.5 ml/s. The scan delayed time was 18~30s.Results: One hundred and 1 patients with atherosclerotic aortic diseases were diagnosed. Among them, 39 patients were demonstrated plaques and calcifications, 37 patients were diagnosed with penetrating atherosclerotic ulcers (PAU), 31 patients were demonstrated with atherosclerotic aortic aneurysms(AAA), 18 patients were demonstrated with intramural hematomas (IMH), 5 patients were demonstrated with aortic dissections and 30 patients were demonstrated with complex diseases. Atherosclerotic plaques were mostly occurred in the distal abdominal aorta, with a descending order of aortic arch and thoracic aorta. The ascending aorta was uncommonly involved. The occurrences of involved aortic position in 39 patients with plaques and calcifications were found with a significant difference.Conclusion : Electron beam CT was a very useful tool for detecting atherosclerotic aortic diseases. The aortic wall with atherosclerotic aortic diseases could be clearly demonstrated. The different characters of the involved aortic wall are...