COMPARISON OF SPIRAL CT SCAN AND ARTERIOGRAPHY FOR EVALUATION OF RENAL AND VISCERAL ARTERIES

Renal and visceral artery images obtained concurrently with spiral CT and conventional arteriography were compared for 32 patients. Indicati ons for imaging were occlusive disease (n = 12), aneurysmal disease (n = 9), and renal or visceral artery disease (n = 11). Conventional art eriography enabled visualization of 64 renal arteries and 15 accessory renal arteries. Lateral aortograms obtained in 15 patients enabled vi sualization of 14 superior mesenteric (SMA) and 14 celiac arteries. Sp iral CT enabled visualization of 60 renal arteries, 12 accessory renal arteries, 27 SMAs, and 22 celiac arteries. Calcification or a dispari ty in timing of contrast material injection and scanning prevented vis ualization of the celiac artery in 10 patients and the SMA in four pat ients. With conventional arteriography as the standard for comparison, spiral CT had a sensitivity of 67% and a specificity of 95% for depic tion of at least 75% stenosis in the main renal artery. By means of th e Pearson correlation coefficient, significant correlation (p < 0.001) was confirmed between spiral CT and arteriography for evaluation of s tenosis of the main renal artery, SMA, and celiac artery. This early e xperience suggests that spiral CT may be useful in evaluation of renal and visceral arteries and their relationship to aortic disease.