Clinico-radiological spectrum of giant intracranial aneurysms

A review of a series of 56 patients with a giant intracranial aneurysm showed that 28 presented with signs related to the mass effect and 19 with subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). Additional clinical signs observed were seizures, ischemia, and endocrinological disturbances. Fourty-five aneurysms involved the carotid artery territory and eleven the vertebrobasilar system. On computed tomography (CT) images partially thrombosed aneurysms (23 cases) showed 1) a marginal or central "target" appearance on contrast enhanced scans corresponding to the non-thrombosed lumen as demonstrated by angiography, 2) capsular enhancement in 16 cases and 3) calcifications in 9. SAH occurred in 13 and 6 cases of non-thrombosed and partially thrombosed aneurysms, respectively. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in 6 cases showed several layers of thrombosis in 4 cases and a small signal void close to the parent artery. In one case of a non-thrombosed aneurysm, thrombosis was mimicked by flow artifacts of MRI.