Abstract:

Purpose: To assess the usefulness and reproducibility of magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) for the evaluation of intracranial aneurysms treated by endovascular coiling. Materials and Methods: 51 patients (18 men, 33 women; 21-86 year-old, mean age 50.2) with 54 aneurysms treated by detachable platinum coils were included in this study. The patients were scheduled for follow-up MRA imaging at three to six months after endovascular treatment. Two interventional neuroradiologists, evaluated the TOF-MRA images blindly. Source MR images and volume rendering techniques of 3D TOF images such as maximum intensity projection (MIP) and multiplanar reformation (MPR) were utilized for this purpose. Follow-up digital subtraction angiography (DSA) was performed as a reference test on a biplane angiographic unit on the sixth month and the first year depending on the patient's characteristics. Results: DSA confirmed residual or recurrent aneurysmal flow in 5 patients out of 54 treated cerebral aneurysms; two with tip of basilary artery, one with left MCA bifurcation, one with anterior communicating artery and one with right supraclinoid internal carotid artery. Then the DSA images were compared with the MRA data. Total agreement was 0.94 for MRA. Kappa coefficient was 0.74 for indicating good concordance of the readers for MRA (95 % CI was 0.44 to 1.04). Conclusion: MRA is a reproducible technique for the follow-up of aneurysms after endovascular coil embolization. Conventional catheter angiography as a gold standard test could be used to solve uncertain cases.

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