In vitro accuracy and inter-observer reliability of CT angiography in detecting intracranial aneurysm enlargement.

Background and purpose To evaluate the accuracy and inter-observer variability when CT angiography is used to identify unruptured intracranial aneurysm growth. Methods Two silicone phantom models were used in this study. Each phantom had eight aneurysms of variable size. The size and location of aneurysms in phantom 1 were representative of real patient aneurysms who presented to our institution. Phantom 2 contained aneurysms in the same locations, but with enlargement in various directions. Three blinded board-certified neuroradiologists were asked to identify the size of each aneurysm in three dimensions using CT angiography. The individual enlargement detection rates and inter-observer agreement rates of aneurysm enlargement among the three experts were calculated. Results The detection rate of aneurysm enlargement in one dimension was 58.3% among the three observers. Accurate detection of enlargement in all dimensions was 12.5% among the three observers. Detection accuracy was not related to the size of enlargement. Significant inter-observer measurement variability was present. Conclusion The use of CT angiography was associated with a poor ability to identify aneurysm enlargementaccurately. Further human studies are required to confirm our findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]