PURPOSE: To determine whether the presence of calcification in the cavernous segment of the internal carotid artery seen on head computed tomography (CT) performed in the emergency department shows any relationship to the existence of @entity262 . Significant and consistent relationships could be used as predictors in suggesting the presence of @entity262 in those @entity1 receiving head CTs for unrelated symptoms. METHODS: A retrospective investigation was performed on 295 consecutive @entity1 presenting to the Massachusetts General Hospital emergency department for head CT scan during the course of 1 month. Head CT images were analyzed for carotid siphon @entity730 . Data regarding multiple predictors of disease including gender, age, @entity101 , @entity6 , smoking, @entity1007 , @entity299 , and @entity167 and intravenous drug abuse were abstracted from the medical record for each @entity1 . RESULTS: Strong univariate correlation was noted in the comparison between the presence of carotid siphon calcification and gender, age, @entity6 , @entity101 , smoking, and @entity299 while @entity167 and intravenous drug abuse correlated poorly. Multivariate models including categorized age and gender demonstrated a consistently strong interaction with @entity6 , @entity299 , and smoking while @entity101 and @entity1007 showed a loss of significance. Interaction term analysis indicated a strong (ie, significant) interaction between gender and both @entity101 and @entity1007 . CONCLUSIONS: Carotid siphon @entity730 are strong predictors of existing medical disease in simple cases. In @entity1 with a combination of diseases, a strong interaction between covariates is noted, suggesting a more complex interaction contributing to the formation of carotid siphon disease.

Clinical significance of cavernous carotid @entity730 encountered on head computed tomography scans performed on XXXX seen in the emergency department.

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['patients', 'patient'] @entity101 :: ('MESH:D006973', 'Disease') :: ['hypertension'] @entity6 :: ('MESH:D003920', 'Disease') :: ['diabetes'] @entity1007 :: ('MESH:D006937', 'Disease') :: ['hypercholesterolemia'] @entity167 :: ('CHEBI:16236', 'Chemical') :: ['alcohol'] @entity262 :: ('MESH:D034721', 'Disease') :: ['systemic disease'] @entity730 :: ('MESH:D002114', 'Disease') :: ['calcifications'] @entity299 :: ('MESH:D006331', 'Disease') :: ['cardiac disease']
@entity1 :: (9606,Species) :: ['patients']
