Arm elevation during computed tomography does not significantly alter abdominal aortic aneurysm anatomy

作者：Doyle M G^*; Roy D; Kauffmann C; Tan K T; Soulez G; Amon C H; Tse L W

来源：Diagnostic and Interventional Imaging, 2017, 98(3): 279-282.

DOI：10.1016/j.diii.2016.08.001

• Aortic aneurysm
• Aortic rupture
• Computed tomography
• Patient positioning

Typical positioning during computed tomography (CT) for abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) involves arm elevation above the head [1]. This removes the arms from the field of view and improves visualization and image quality. Patients undergoing CT scan for symptomatic AAAs occasionally become hemodynamically unstable during their CT scan. This hemodynamic instability could be due to AAA rupture. Rupture of an AAA occurs when the local wall stress exceeds the local tensile strength of the wall [2]. Something about the way the patient is scanned may be causing this increase in wall stress. One possible explanation is an increase in patient blood pressure due to a decrease in their body temperature [3] during the scan. However, in this study, it is hypothesized that patient arm elevation while in the CT scanner could cause anterior movement of the lumbar spine, and consequently, changes in the AAA position or shape, which would increase the AAA wall stress, and in certain cases, could lead to AAA free rupture.
The goal of this study was to investigate the impact of arm elevation on the anatomy of AAA during CT examination.

• 出版日期2017-3