RESUMO
PURPOSE: To evaluate the detectability of the Adamkiewicz artery (AA) in patients with acute Stanford type A aortic dissections with multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT). MATERIALS AND METHODS: 51 patients with Stanford type A dissection underwent contrast-enhanced 64-row MDCT of the entire aorta (collimation 64 x 0.625 mm; rotation time 0.4sec; 120 kV; 300 mAs). The visualization of the AA, its origin, and whether it originated from the true or false lumen were analyzed using source and multiplanar reformation images. RESULTS: A single anterior radicular artery that formed a hairpin turn constituting the anterior spinal artery was visualized in 36 (70 %) patients. Thirty (83 %) of these arteries originated from the left side, and 35 (97 %) originated between the level T 7 and L 2. Twenty-three (64 %) arteries originated from the true and 13 (36 %) from the false lumen. Two AAs in the same patient were not observed. CONCLUSION: MDCT depicts the AA in a high percentage of patients with acute Stanford type A aortic dissection.
