Abstract
Background and purpose
Venous anatomic variants are common and generally considered normal. However, growing recognition of cerebral venous disorders in neurologic disease has prompted renewed interest in venous architecture, especially with the increasing use of the internal jugular vein (IJV) as a target for outflow augmentation. Establishing baseline data on venous stenosis prevalence in an unselected population is critical for future research. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of IJV stenoses in patients undergoing neck CTA for unrelated indications.Materials and methods
We conducted a multicenter, retrospective study analyzing the venous anatomy of patients who underwent CTA for unrelated conditions, primarily large vessel occlusion. Stenosis was graded on the basis of the percentage of lumen narrowing with a NASCET-style methodology, and the relationship between IJV stenosis severity and suboccipital collateral drainage was evaluated. Consecutive CTAs of patients were queried to map anatomic features.Results
Sixty-eight percent of the 679 total patients had some degree of IJV stenosis. Severe unilateral stenosis (≥51%) was present in approximately 21% of patients, whereas complete or near-complete occlusion was uncommon at 8%. Bilateral high-grade stenosis was noted in 18% of patients with >50% stenosis and in only 2% of patients with >75% stenosis. A greater degree of stenosis correlated with increased suboccipital collateral vein diameter (P = .0025).Conclusions
IJV stenosis is common on CTA performed for non-venous indications with a correlation between the degree of stenosis and the suboccipital collateral vein diameter. The clinical significance of these findings and its possible contribution to cerebral venous disorders require further prospective investigation.