Comparisons of artifacts limiting arterial evaluation with 256-section and 64-section CTA of the carotids
| Shoulder streak artifacts | Photon starvation between shoulders obscures CCA, vertebral artery, IJV in lower neck | 12 | 14 | 0.820 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Metallic streak artifacts | Dental hardware, cardiac defibrillator leads, spinal fusion hardware, etc, obscure adjacent structures | 22 | 37 | 0.004 |
| Contrast material reflux | Contrast reflux into veins of neck obscures adjacent vertebral artery | 0 | 0 | N/A |
| Flow artifacts | Altered flow dynamics (eg, slow flow) and rapid scanning time create appearance of dissection flap or nonopacification of patent vessel | |||
| Arterial | ||||
| Pseudodissection | 1 | 1 | 1.000 | |
| Pseudo-occlusion | 0 | 1 | N/A | |
| Differential attenuation | 5 | 1 | 0.204 | |
| Venous | ||||
| Pseudothrombosis | 0 | 0 | N/A |