TOMODENSITOMETRIC DIAGNOSIS OF ACUTE BASI LAR ARTERY THROMBOSIS

Basilar artery thrombosis is a potentially treatable neurologic diseas e whose initial symptoms are sometimes difficult to recognize. The bas ilar artery is hyperdense on computed tomography in cases with basilar artery thrombosis. We have studied computed tomography attenuation va lues before and after contrast administration in a total population of 117 patients, 12 of whom were diagnosed angiographically as having ba silar artery or after contrast, the differential values obtained by su btracting them (after contrast/before), or by an attenuation ratio cor responding to the differential value divided by the value before contr ast, are more helpful. Indeed, the differential values and attenuation ratios in the normal population have a mean value of 51.1 and 1.37 co mpared with 14.47 and 0.33 in patients with basilar artery thrombosis.