رضا جواد رشید

Cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) is relatively uncommon but important. Because of non-specific signs and symptoms, non-contrast computed tomography (NCT) is performed for most patients. The first aim of this study was to investigate the sensitivity and specificity of NCT in the diagnosis of CVT. Another aim was to assess the value of sinus venous attenuation measurement on NCT in the diagnosis of CVT.

NCT of 187 patients were reviewed. Sensitivity and specificity of NCT were evaluated in the diagnosis of CVT. Hounsfield unit (HU) of sinus venous with thrombus was compared to normal veins of control group, with and without standardization to the average HU of the internal carotids.

CVT was confirmed in 32 patients by MRV (Magnetic Resonance Venography(. NCT has high sensitivity and specificity in the diagnosis of CVT. A significant difference in average venous sinus attenuation was found between thrombus in patients with CVT (66.12±7.4 HU) and normal veins in the control group (48.59±5.91 HU; p<0.05). A similar difference is identified between standardized HU value in venous sinuses with thrombus (1.59±0.24) and venous sinuses without thrombus (1.06±0.14; p<0.05). A HU of >62 and a standardized HU of >1.4 on NCT are associated with high probability of CVT.

High sensitivity of NCT and using sinus venous attenuation can be helpful for the early diagnosis and treatment of CVT in the emergency settings. Sinus venous attenuation value of >62 and standardized HU of >1.4 on NCT can be used as reliable methods to detect CVT.

Right ventricle failure and massive pulmonary artery occlusion are the main causes of mortality in patients with acute pulmonary embolism. Although pulmonary CT angiography could be helpful in these patients there are some controversies. In current study we want to investigate correlation between pulmonary artery obstruction score and right ventricular dysfunction with mortality rate in patients with acute pulmonary embolism.

Pulmonary CT angiography of 76 patients with acute pulmonary embolism and no previous comorbidity were reviewed at this prospective study. Maximum short axis dimensions of the right ventricle (RVD) and the left ventricle (LVD) and their ratio were measured. The pulmonary artery obstruction score (PAOS) was determined according to Qanadli. At the end the correlation between these findings and mortality at first 60 days were evaluated.

The 60-days mortality rate was 19.7%. The expired and survived groups were comparable for PAOS, whereas both the median age and RVD/LVD ratio were significantly higher in the first group. In multivariate analysis, however, age was the only significant, independent predictor of 60-day mortality (p=0.02).

Without pre-existing morbidities, neither the RVD/LVD ratio nor PAOS is not an independent predictor of mortality in hemodynamically stable patients with acute PE.