Effectiveness of magnetic resonance angiography in the diagnosis of cerebral aneurysm in patients treated in a hospital in Luanda, Angola

Introduction: Cerebral aneurysms are abnormal dilatations of intracranial arteries. They can be classified as saccular, fusiform and dissecting. The most common are saccular aneurysms. Cerebral aneurysm is the most frequent cause of spontaneous cerebral hemorrhage and presents a high mortality rate (1 in every 5 people who suffer a sudden death are diagnosed with a ruptured cerebral aneurysm during autopsies). Cerebral Magnetic Resonance techniques have revolutionized the management of intracranial aneurysms. Objective: To characterize the effectiveness of Magnetic Resonance Angiography in the diagnosis of cerebral aneurysms in patients aged 25 to 75 years, in the Multiperfil Clinic. Methods: a cross-sectional retrospective descriptive observational study was carried out with a quantitative or positivist approach, classified as a basic research project, which analyzed the clinical-imaging profile of 25 patients diagnosed by Magnetic Resonance Angiography. Results: the age group from 55 to 64 years old is most affected by cerebral aneurysm with a frequency of 15 which corresponds to 60.0%. Women are the most affected with a percentage of 56.0%. The most frequent clinical manifestation is headache reported in 50.0% of cases. 84.0% of cases had a saccular aneurysm, 88.0% showed a size of 3-11mm, and 64% of cases were located in the Posterior Communicating Artery. In 100% of cases, the aneurysm was verified through Magnetic Resonance Angiography. Conclusion: the ARM constitutes a tool that allows 100% of the imagenological diagnoses of the sample analyzed during the study period, specifying characteristics such as size, size, type of aneurysm and anatomical location of the affected artery.