Variation in the Branches of Arch of Aorta in Patients Undergoing Contrast Enhanced Multidetector Computed Tomography in a Tertiary Center: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study

TL;DR

This study describes variations in the aortic arch branches observed in patients using CT scans, highlighting their importance for surgical planning.

Contribution

The study provides new data on aortic arch variations in a specific patient population using contrast-enhanced CT.

Findings

Variations in aortic arch branches were found in 13.45% of patients.

Common origin of left common carotid artery and brachiocephalic trunk occurred in 9.94% of cases.

Abstract

Variations in the branching pattern of the Arch of Aorta (AoA) are common in patients undergoing contrast-enhanced Multidetector Computed Tomography, the identification of which is crucial in managing patients undergoing cardiovascular/neck surgeries and interventions.

This descriptive cross-sectional study involved 513 patients who were sent to the Department of Radiology for evaluation of various pathologies of chest and neck between August 2018 and July 2019. After approval from the Institutional Review Committee {Reference No: 11(6-11) E2/075/076}, contrast-enhanced computed tomography images were evaluated with variations in branches of the left-sided arch of the aorta and symptoms associated.

Variations in branches of the arch of aorta were seen in 69 (13.45%; 95% CI: 10.60%-16.71%) of cases, left common carotid artery and brachiocephalic trunk having common origin or common trunk was 51 (9.94%). The mean age was 52.4±20 years (Range 3 months to 92 years) with male to female ratio of 1.3:1.

Contrast-enhanced computed tomography is the modality of choice for the detection of the variations in branches of AoA, recognition of which is crucial in vascular intervention and surgical procedures to reduce the postoperative morbidity and mortality of the patients.