Objective: To study the advantages of delayed phase scan at 5 minutes using multi-slice Computed Tomography (CT) for the diagnosis of intracranial tuberculosis.
Methods: Conventional non-contrast and dual-phase contrast enhancement were performed using 16-slice spiral CT for brain scanning. Arterial phase was performed 25 seconds after the injection of contrast agent, and the delayed phase was performed at 5 minutes. Then the ability of two phase images in intracranial tuberculosis displaying was evaluated.
Results: A total of 526 lesions in 30 patients were found. Delayed phase scan was superior to arterial phase in the ability of displaying the thickening of meninges, either basal cistern, pia mater or ependymal (P<0.01). The demonstration of lesion size and margins of tuberculoma was also better in delayed phase scan (P<0.01). The delayed phase scan was significantly better in distinguishing lesions and adjacent vascular sections in the sulcus (P<0.01).
Conclusion: The delayed phase scan has obvious advantages in the display of intracranial tuberculosis.