Dense artery sign
| Dense artery sign | |
|---|---|
 | |
| CT scan without intravenous contrast showing hyperdense aspect of the right middle cerebral artery, indicating thrombus within the vessel | |
| Differential diagnosis | ischemic stroke |
In
ischemic stroke.[1] In earlier studies of medical imaging in patients with strokes, it was the earliest sign of ischemic stroke in a significant minority of cases.[2] Its appearance portends a poor prognosis for the patient.[3][4]
The sign has been observed in the middle cerebral artery (MCA),[4] posterior cerebral artery (PCA),[5] vertebral artery,[2] and basilar artery;[6] these have been called the dense MCA sign, dense PCA sign, dense vertebral artery sign, and dense basilar artery sign, respectively.
Rarely, a hypodense artery sign can occur due to fat embolism.[7]
Cause
Through
atherosclerotic plaque.[1]
Identification
Identification of the dense artery sign is often based on subjective interpretation and
ischemic stroke and that caused by false positives.[8] Specifically, the combination of greater than 43 Hounsfield units and an MCA density ratio of greater than 1.2 was diagnostic of a dense MCA sign associated with acute ischemic stroke.[8]
References
- ^ PMID 9865804.[permanent dead link]
- ^ PMID 2398948.
- PMID 8467850.
- ^ PMID 3694213.
- PMID 15596621.[permanent dead link]
- PMID 9773238.
- ^ Lee TC, Bartlett ES, Fox AJ, Symons SP. The hypodense artery sign. American Journal of Neuroradiology. 2005 September; 26(8):2027-2029.
- ^ PMID 11070370.