3D Contrast Enhancement-MR Angiography for Imaging of Unruptured Cerebral Aneurysms: A Hospital-Based Prevalence Study

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 9; no. 12; p. e114157
• Main Authors: Li, Jing, Shen, Bixia, Ma, Chao, Liu, Li, Ren, Li, Fang, Yibin, Dai, Dongwei, Chen, Shiyue, Lu, Jianping
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 02.12.2014; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Adult; Age; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Aneurysm; Aneurysms; Angiography; Contrast Media; Family medical history; Female; Fourier transforms; Hemorrhage; Hospitals; Hospitals, Public; Humans; Hypertension; Intracranial Aneurysm - diagnosis; Intracranial Aneurysm - epidemiology; Ionizing radiation; Lesions; Magnetic Resonance Angiography - methods; Magnetic resonance imaging; Male; Medical imaging; Medicine and Health Sciences; Men; Middle Aged; Morphology; Mortality; Neurosurgery; Patients; Prevalence; Prevalence studies (Epidemiology); Prospective Studies; Risk factors; Smoking; Young Adult; China
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0114157

Contrast enhanced MRA (CE-MRA) can help to overcome the limitations of other techniques to clearly display the details of cerebral aneurysms at 1.5-T MR system. We investigated the prevalence of unruptured cerebral aneurysms (UCAs) using three dimensional (3D) CE-MRA in a tertiary comprehensive hospital in China. The cases were prospectively recorded at our hospital between February 2009 and October 2010. 3D CE-MRA, interpreted by 2 observers blinded to the participants' information, was used to identify the location and size of UCAs and to estimate the overall, age-specific, and sex-specific prevalence. Of the 3993 patients (men: women = 2159:1834), 408 UCAs were found in 350 patients (men: women = 151:199). The prevalence was 8.8% overall (95% CI, 8.0-10.0%), with 7.0% for men (CI, 6.0-8.0%) and 10.9% for women (CI, 9.0-12.0%). The overall prevalence of UCAs was higher in women than in men (P<0.001) and increased with age both in men and women. Prevalence peaked at age group 75-80 years. Forty-two patients (11.7%) had multiple aneurysms, including 10 (2.9%) male patients and 32 (9.1%) female patients. The most common site of aneurysm was the carotid siphon, and most lesions (71.3%) had a maximum diameter of 3-5 mm. This hospital-based prevalence study suggested a high prevalence (8.8%) of UCAs and most lesions (71.3%) had a maximum diameter of 3-5 mm observed by 3D CE-MRA. Because the rupture of small cerebral aneurysms was not uncommon, an appropriate follow-up care strategy must be formulated.