Cuantificación del signo de la arteria cerebral media hiperdensa con TCMD

purposes. to obtain absolute and relative quantification values of density in the middle cerebral artery (mca) sign, in order to obtain an objective value for an early diagnosis of acute ischemic stroke using mdct. material and methods. forty adult patients, 20 with suspected diagnosis of acute ischemic stroke (mean age: 73.4 years) and 20 controls (mean age: 71.2 years, p=0.63), underwent brain ct scans with a 64-row multi-detector scanner (brilliance 64; philips medical systems). absolute quantitative analysis was assessed by tracking tissue density of the mca segment using region of interests. for relative quantification, density in the same segment of the contra- lateral mca was measured to calculate the difference between both arteries. results. in cases, mean density of affected mca (62.5 hu, 99% ci: 46.2 - 78.7) was greater than that of the contra-lateral mca segments (39.3 hu, 99% ci: 33.3-45.3) (p<0.0004) and also greater than that of controls (44.7 hu, 99% ci: 37.4-52) (p=0.0045). in relative quantification, the mean difference between density of the affected mca and that of contra-lateral mca in cases was 23.2 hu (95% ci: 11.7-34.7), while in controls the mean difference between the right mca density and the left mca density was 5.2 hu (95% ci: 2.4-8.4) (difference: 17.8 hu, p = 0.0062, 95% ci: 6.8-28.8). conclusion. we showed significant (relative and absolute) differences in mca density in patients with suspected acute ischemic stroke as compared to normal subjects.