RESUMO
Objective To explore the utility ofCT angiography (CTA) in the identification and characterization of internal carotid artery (ICA) blood blister-like aneuryms (BBA). Methods All the 143 patients with spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) who had been managed in our department from January 2008 to December 2009 were analyzed retrospectively.All of them underwent CTA prior to digital subtraction angiography (DSA) for evaluation of spontaneous SAH.The reports from the CTA and DSA were reviewed to determine whether the ICA BBA had been correctly and prospectively diagnosed. A retrospective review of the CTA and DSA images was also performed.Results All patients were diagnosed with spontaneous SAH by plain scan CT.We identified 6 cases of ICA BBA on initial DSA imaging.Of the 6 blister-like aneurysms,4 (67％) were identified prospectively and 5 (86％) retrospectively on CTA.In one case that had been confirmed by DSA as ICA BBA,the retrospective CTA failed to find the abnormity.All the 6 patients underwent endovascular treatment with stent placement.All patients were followed up for an average of 8.3 months (range,6-18 months) simply by DSA after treatment. Conclusion If CTA identifies a spontaneous SAH but fails to identify the cause,a careful DSA should be performed to detect a possible presence of ICA BBA.