Author/Editor		Pikija, Slaven; Magdič, Jožef; Hojs-Fabjan, Tanja
Title		Calcifications of vertebrobasilar arteries on CT
Type		članek
Vol. and No.		Letnik 2013
Publication year		2013
Volume		str. [1]-7, article ID 918970
ISSN		2314-6141 - BioMed research international
Language		eng
Abstract		Introduction. Intracranial atherosclerosis is responsible for a substantial proportion of strokes worldwide but its detailed morphology in the vertebrobasilar arteries (VBA) is unknown. Subject and Methods. Cases with ischemic strokes were retrospectively sought from the hospital database. Native CT scans were assessed for vessel area and intracranial artery calcifications (ICACs) in VBA. The calcifications were classified as focal (FCs), crescent, and circular. Results. 245 patients (mean age: 77.1 +/- 10.2 years, 57.6% females) had visible ICACs. Calcifications were found in 75.9%, 63.3%, and 17.1% in the left vertebral artery (LVA), the right vertebral artery (RVA), and the basilar artery (BA), respectively. FCs were present in 91.0%, 90.3%, and 100.0%; crescents in 30.3%, 29.0%, and 7.1%, and circulars in 6.4%, 4.8%, and 0.0% of the RVA, LVA, and BA, respectively. FCs in dorsolateral quadrant were least prevalent in both vertebral arteries (VAs): 46 (29.8%) and 46 (27.4%) for RVA and LVA, respectively. Risk factors associated with vertical dispersion of ICACs were male gender (OR: 2.69, 1.38-5.28) and diabetes (OR: 2.28, 1.04-4.99). Conclusions. FCs in VAs are least prevalent in dorsolateral quadrants. The vertical dispersion of ICACs seems to be associated with the male gender and diabetes.
Keywords		možganska kap, ishemična arterije intrakranialna ateroskleroza kalcifikacije računalniška tomografija