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Identification of intraplaque haemorrhage in carotid artery by simultaneous non-contrast angiography and intraPlaque haemorrhage (SNAP) imaging: a magnetic resonance vessel wall imaging study

  • Magnetic Resonance
  • Published:
European Radiology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Objectives

To investigate the usefulness of Simultaneous Non-contrast Angiography and intraPlaque haemorrhage (SNAP) imaging in characterising carotid intraplaque haemorrhage (IPH) compared with magnetisation-prepared rapid acquisition gradient-echo (MP-RAGE) sequence.

Methods

Fifty-four symptomatic patients (mean age: 63.1 ± 5.7 years, 38 males) with carotid atherosclerosis were recruited and underwent carotid MR imaging. The presence and area of IPH on SNAP and MP-RAGE images were determined. The agreement in identifying IPH and its area between SNAP and MP-RAGE was analysed.

Results

Of 1368 slices with acceptable image quality in 54 patients, 13% and 22.6% were found to have IPH on MP-RAGE and SNAP images, respectively. There was moderate agreement between MP-RAGE and SNAP sequences in identifying IPH (κ = 0.511, p = 0.029). The area of IPH on SNAP images was significantly larger than that on MP-RAGE images (17.9 ± 18.2 mm2 vs. 9.2 ± 10.5 mm2, p < 0.001). For IPHs detected by SNAP imaging, the area of IPHs also detected by the MP-RAGE sequence was significantly larger than that of IPHs not detected by the MP-RAGE sequence (17.9 ± 19.2 mm2 vs. 6.4 ± 6.2 mm2, p < 0.001).

Conclusion

Compared with the MP-RAGE sequence, SNAP imaging detects more IPHs, particularly for smaller IPHs, suggesting that SNAP imaging might be a more sensitive tool for identification of carotid haemorrhagic plaques.

Key Points

• Moderate agreement was found between SNAP and MP-RAGE in identification of IPH

• SNAP imaging might be a more sensitive tool to detect carotid IPHs

• Compared with the MP-RAGE sequence, SNAP imaging can detect carotid IPHs with smaller size

• SNAP imaging can help clinicians to optimise the treatment strategy

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Abbreviations

IPH:

intraplaque haemorrhage

MP-RAGE:

Magnetisation-prepared rapid acquisition gradient-echo

SNAP:

Simultaneous non-contrast angiography and intraplaque haemorrhage

MR:

Magnetic resonance

MRA:

Magnetic resonance angiography

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Funding

This study is funded by the grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81771825, 81361120402) and Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Project (D131100002313002).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Brain Disorders Research, Capital Medical University and Beijing Institute for Brain Disorders, Beijing, China

    Dongye Li & Xiaoyi Chen

  2. Department of Radiology, Renji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China

    Huilin Zhao & Jianrong Xu

  3. Centre for Biomedical Imaging Research, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tsinghua University School of Medicine, Beijing, Haidian District, 100084, China

    Xiaoyi Chen, Shuo Chen, Huiyu Qiao, Le He, Rui Li, Chun Yuan & Xihai Zhao

  4. Centre of Stroke, Beijing Institute for Brain Disorders, Beijing, China

    Xihai Zhao

  5. Department of Radiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    Chun Yuan

Authors
  1. Dongye Li
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  2. Huilin Zhao
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  3. Xiaoyi Chen
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  4. Shuo Chen
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  5. Huiyu Qiao
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  6. Le He
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  7. Rui Li
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  8. Jianrong Xu
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  9. Chun Yuan
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  10. Xihai Zhao
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Xihai Zhao.

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Guarantor

The scientific guarantor of this publication is Xihai Zhao MD, PhD.

Conflict of interest

The authors of this manuscript declare no relationships with any companies, whose products or services may be related to the subject matter of the article.

Statistics and biometry

No complex statistical methods were necessary for this paper.

Informed consent

Written informed consent was obtained from all subjects (patients) in this study.

Methodology

• Retrospective

• Observational

• Performed at one institution

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Li, D., Zhao, H., Chen, X. et al. Identification of intraplaque haemorrhage in carotid artery by simultaneous non-contrast angiography and intraPlaque haemorrhage (SNAP) imaging: a magnetic resonance vessel wall imaging study. Eur Radiol 28, 1681–1686 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00330-017-5096-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00330-017-5096-1

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