Radiology Case Reports (Jan 2022)

Ultrasound-guided computed tomography angiography for the diagnosis of rotational vertebral artery occlusion: 2 case reports and technical notes

  • Naoki Iwasa, M.D.,
  • Kozue Saito, M.D., Ph.D.,
  • Daisuke Shimada, M.D.,
  • Akito Tanaka, M.D.,
  • Yuto Uchihara, M.D.,
  • Takafusa Ando, M.D.,
  • Kazuma Sugie, M.D., Ph.D.

Journal volume & issue
Vol. 17, no. 1
pp. 166 – 170

Abstract

Read online

Rotational vertebral artery occlusion is a rare cause of ischemic stroke in the vertebrobasilar arteries. While computed tomography angiography (CTA) is less invasive for the diagnosis of rational vertebral artery occlusion than digital subtraction angiography and more useful for elucidating the correlation between vertebrobasilar arteries and the surrounding structure, carotid ultrasound is noninvasive and more beneficial for the real-time evaluation of the hemodynamic change with neck rotation compared to CTA. Here, we reported 2 cases of rotational vertebral artery occlusion in patients aged 81 and 38 years and proposed a novel technique for its diagnosis using ultrasound-guided CTA. We suggest that the combination of ultrasound and CTA is useful for diagnosing rotational vertebral artery occlusion, which would compensate for the disadvantages of CTA alone.

Keywords