Authors:
M. Hrabak Paar, R. Stern Padovan; Zagreb/HR
DOI:
10.1594/ecr2010/C-3065
Methods and Materials
MSCT angiography of the aorta was performed in 94 patients with AAA (87 men and seven women; age range 41-91) and in 94 control subjects (68 men and 26 women; age range 40-85). Total, visceral and subcutaneous abdominal fat areas were measured on a single axial CT scan at the level of umbilicus using standardized technique3 (Figures 1-6) and compared between the groups by the t-test for independent samples. In the control group atherosclerotic plaques of aortic segments were semiquantitatively graded (grade 1 – no wall thickening, grade 2 – wall thickening without lumen irregularity, grade 3 – wall thickening with lumen irregularity and minimal calcifications, grade 4 – high plaque burden and abundant calcifications),4 and Spearman’s coefficient (rs) for correlation between atherosclerotic plaques and abdominal fat areas was calculated.