AJR. American journal of roentgenology
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AJR Am J Roentgenol · Jul 1999
MR angiography and surgery for unruptured familial intracranial aneurysms in persons with a family history of cerebral aneurysms.
We used MR angiography to determine prevalence of unruptured familial intracranial aneurysms in a prepaid medical care program. We compared surgical outcomes and the cost of treating unruptured versus ruptured aneurysms. We compared the cost of MR angiography with the cost of screening mammography and with the cost of surgically treating a ruptured aneurysm. ⋯ MR angiography showed a 9.5% prevalence of unruptured aneurysms among persons who had one or more first-degree relatives with a cerebral aneurysm. DSA confirmed 88% of aneurysms found on MR angiography. Persons with unruptured aneurysms had better treatment outcomes at lower cost than did patients treated for aneurysm rupture. The annual MR angiography cost was low compared with the cost of screening mammography and with the cost of treating one patient with aneurysm rupture.