[Spiral computed tomographic angiography in the diagnosis of vertebral artery occlusive lesions]

The study was undertaken to evaluate the efficiency of spiral computed tomographic angiography (SCTA) in the diagnosis of vertebral artery (VA) occlusive lesions in 23 patients with vertebrobasilar insufficiency, by using this technique (CT-LIGHTspeed 16, HAS CT/i (CGE). Manual and semiautomatic calculations using in the estimation of the degree of VA stenosis revealed critical (70% or more) stenoses in 14% of the study group patients, moderate (30-69%) stenoses in 38%, and mild (30% or less). In 90% of cases, plaques were located in the ostium of VA or in the segments of clavicular arteries in the immediate proximity to the ostium. The obtained results of SCTG have indicated that the technique is of great informative value in the diagnosis of stenotic lesions: its sensitivity, specificity, and precision in <50% stenosis were 93, 86, and 82%, respectively; and these in >50% stenoses were 94, 88, and 86%.