Comparison of 64-slice CT angiography with 3D digital subtraction angiography in the diagnosis of intracranial aneurysms: a Meta-analysis

Abstract

Background The difference of diagnostic accuracy of 64-slice computed tomography angiography (CTA) with 3D digital subtraction angiography (3D-DSA) in the detection of intracranial aneurysms is not clear yet. This study compares the diagnostic value of 64-slice CTA with 3D-DSA in the diagnosis of intracranial aneurysms via a Meta-analysis. Methods In this study, 64-slice, 64-row, CT, angiography, intracranial aneurysms, cerebral aneurysms, subarachnoid hemorrhage, etc. were used as key words, and searched in the electronic databases including Embase, MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and Wanfang Data, assisted by manual searching, in order to retrieve articles both in English and Chinese that reported on comparisons of 64-slice CTA and 3D-DSA in the evaluation of suspected intracranial aneurysms. Meta-disc Version 1.4 was used for the Meta-analysis, and Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies (QUADAS) was applied to assess the quality of these research studies. Results Four clinical trials were selected. According to the Meta-analysis, the pooled sensitivity, specificity, diagnostic odds ratios (DOR) and summary receiver operating characteristics (SROC) area under curve (AUC) was 97% (95% CI: 0.950-0.980), 91% (95% CI: 0.860-0.950), 269.640 (95% CI: 137.250-529.720) and 0.993 respectively. Conclusion On the basis of Meta-analysis, 64-slice CTA has a high level of sensitivity and specificity for diagnoses of intracranial aneurysms and it can be used as an important examination tool in the diagnoses of intracranial aneurysms. Because the sample size of selected studies is small, it is necessary to perform well-designed and larger sample studies to further assess the diagnostic value of intracranial aneurysms by 64-slice CTA.