Purpose: To determine the value of contrast-enhanced, three-dimensional MR angiography for the evaluation of stenotic and occlusive vascular lesions in inflammatory aortic arch syndrome.
Materials and methods: 14 patients with inflammatory aortic arch syndrome (giant cell arteritis: n = 8, Takayasu arteritis: n = 4, ankylosing spondylitis: n = 1 sarcoidosis: n = 1) underwent MR angiography of the aortic arch and the supra-aortic vessels (n = 15, 2 patients were examined twice) and of the abdominal aorta (n = 2). MRA was performed using a 3D-FLASH sequence (TR/TE 4.6/1.8 ms, flip angle 30 (3)) on a 1.5T system. MRA imaging was compared with the findings of DSA, which served as gold standard.
Results: In a total of 467 examined vascular territories, DSA revealed 50 stenoses and 35 occlusions. All lesions were detected by MRA. In 23 segments, the degree of stenosis was overestimated by MRA. Sensitivity and specificity of MRA were 100 % and 94.3 %, positive and negative predictive values were 73.6 and 100 %, and the accuracy was 95.1 %.
Conclusions: Despite a tendency to overestimate stenoses, contrast-enhanced three-dimensional MR angiography is a valid, non-invasive technique in the assessment of inflammatory aortic arch syndrome.