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Title: 3-D CT Scans Provide More Comprehensive View of Complex Varicose Veins
URL: http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/22D8BE.htm
Doctor's Guide
September 25, 2008

NEW YORK -- September 25, 2008 -- Three-dimensional computed tomography (3-D CT) scans provide a more comprehensive view of complex varicose veins in the lower extremities, according to a study in the October issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology.

Jin Wook Chung, MD, and Whal Lee, MD, Department of Radiology, Seoul National University Medical Research Seoul, Republic of Korea, and colleagues aimed to verify the imaging quality of CT venography in the clinical evaluation of the lower extremity superficial venous system, and to correlate the CT and duplex sonographic findings about varicose veins.

One hundred patients with varicose veins in their lower extremities underwent 3-D CT scans. Image quality of overall 3-D volume rendering was rated, and the absolute attenuation of each component at the level of the knee was measured.

For comparison analysis, 50 of the 100 patients also underwent Doppler sonography, and saphenous vein size and morphologic features on CT were compared with the functional information from Doppler sonography.

The overall quality of "images attained were excellent in 76% of patients," said Drs. Chung and Lee. Fair quality was seen in 21% of patients and poor quality in 3%.

The entire length of the great saphenous vein (GSV) was visualised with CT venography in 99.5% of 200 GSVs. The quality of 3-D volume-rendered images was better when a thick subcutaneous layer, no skin changes, and no subcutaneous oedema were present.

Size of the GSV determined whether findings at CT venography and Doppler sonography correlated well, the linear regression coefficient being 0.72.

With 3-D CT, "the patient and surgeon have a more comprehensive way to see the disease. It shows all aspects of the varicose veins that are important to detect before surgery to prevent recurrence," said the authors. "3-D CT makes it easy to understand the disease and make a surgical plan."

SOURCE: American Roentgen Ray Society

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