Magnetic resonance angiography in trauma.

Abstract

Following blunt or penetrating trauma to the head and neck, a variety of traumatic vascular injuries may occur. Often the clinical presentation of a craniocervical arterial injury is delayed and neuroimaging studies are necessary to evaluate for delayed findings of intracranial infarction or hemorrhage. In this setting, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) may allow a prompt noninvasive diagnosis of craniocervical vascular injury. MRA may be helpful in selecting those patients requiring conventional angiography and allows a noninvasive follow-up evaluation of arterial injury following institution of therapy.