[Diagnosis and follow-up of cervical arterial dissections--results of the SFNV-SFNR study]. / Diagnostic et surveillance des dissections des artères cervicales--résultats de l'enquête nationale SFNV-SFNR.

INTRODUCTION: the objective of this study was to determine the role of radiological techniques in the diagnosis, assessment of severity and follow-up of cervical arterial dissections. MATERIAL AND METHODS: from 1995 to 2001 a multicentre retrospective study was conducted in 24 hospital centers. A multiple-choice questionnaire was sent to each center in order to collect clinical information and imaging details regarding the diagnosis and follow-up of cervical arterial dissections. RESULTS: information was gathered on 459 patients, comprising a total of 384 carotid artery dissections and 170 vertebral artery dissections. A mean of 4.85 diagnostic examinations per patient were conducted. Morphological imaging of the brain by CT or by MRI was performed on all except 3 patients. Cervical Doppler ultrasound examination was the most frequently performed test throughout the entire study period (performed in 87% of patients). Conventional arteriography was a routinely employed test in 1995 whereas by 2001 it comprised only 31.2% of requested examinations, having been progressively replaced by MRI and MRA scanning, which comprised 60% of all examinations performed by 2001. A combination of cervical Doppler ultrasonography, axial MRI and MRA of the neck vessels were performed in 39.6% of patients in 2001. Examination of the intracranial vessels was performed by transcranial Doppler ultrasound in 40% of cases and by MRA in 30% of cases. For the follow-up of arterial dissections, an average of 1.4 examinations was performed per patient. The majority of such follow-up examinations comprised Doppler ultrasound and/or MRA of the neck arteries. CONCLUSION: The imaging diagnosis and follow-up of cervical arterial dissections will increasingly rely on non-invasive imaging techniques.