Incidence of significant extravascular findings in patients undergoing computed tomographic angiography of the whole aorta or abdominal aorta
Article Category: Brief communication (Original)
Published Online: Jan 31, 2017
Page range: 551 - 557
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5372/1905-7415.0904.426
Keywords
© 2015 Khaninthorn Eursurmpong, Thitinan Chulroek
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.
Background
A high prevalence of significant extravascular findings is reported in patients who underwent computed tomographic angiography (CTA) of the pulmonary artery, abdominal aorta, and lower extremities for suspected vascular pathology.
Objectives
To determine the incidence of significant extravascular findings in patients who underwent CTA of the whole aorta or abdominal aorta, and to determine the common clinical symptoms of patients who underwent CTA of aorta in whom these significant extravascular findings were usually found.
Methods
We retrospectively reviewed the cases of 187 patients who underwent CTA of whole aorta and 37 patients who underwent of CTA of abdominal aorta at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital from January 2011 to December 2012. We measured the prevalence of significant extravascular findings and placed these findings into 3 categories. We reviewed the clinical history, further investigation, and also pathologic result of these extravascular findings.
Results
Of 336 extravascular findings in 210 (95%) patients, 41 (12%) provided a an alternative explanation for symptoms of acute chest pain and acute abdominal pain, including axial skeletal fracture, pneumohemothorax, and hemopericardium associated with trauma, 85 (25%) were incidental extravascular findings that required radiological follow-up or further investigation including indeterminate lung nodules or lesions, liver masses, significantly enlarged lymph nodes, adrenal nodules, and mediastinal lesions, and 210 (63%) were extravascular findings that required less urgent or no follow-up. Nine (12%) patients received diagnoses of previously unknown malignancy.
Conclusions
Radiologists and referring clinicians should be aware of the frequency of significant extravascular findings.