Anatomic study and variants of circle of Willis and associated factors in adult population undergo CT angiography of the brain From April 2024 to Jun 2024in Saint Paul’s Hospital Millennium Medical College, Addis Ababa Ethiopia.

Abstract

Abstract Background: The Circle of Willis is an important vascular structure in the brain that has important role in cerebral blood flow; there is a considerable individual variation in the pattern and caliber of vessels that make up the Circle of Willis. The anatomical variations of Circle of Willis have important factor in clinical presentation, morbidity & mortality (1). Objectives: The primary aim of this study is to assess the anatomy and variations of the Circle of Willis and associated factors in adult population undergo brain CT angiography at St. Paul’s Hospital Millennium Medical College, Ethiopia during study period. Methods: This is a facility based cross-sectional study conducted among adult patients with CT angiography of the brain at St. Paul’s Hospital Millennium Medical College. Simple random sampling technique was carried out to select study participants. Bi-variate and multivariate binary logistic regression was conducted to identify the relationship between dependant and independent variables.Finally, a statistical test with a p-value <0.05 was considered the cutoff point to assess the significance of associations. Result: Out of the total 86 individuals, 52 (60.5%) were found to have a complete Circle of Willis, while 34 (39.5%) exhibited incomplete Circle, Hypoplastic arteries were present in 30% of participants, the most involved artery being the right and left Posterior communicating artery accounting14% and 8.1% respectively, double right Posterior communicating artery &anterior communicating artery accounts 5.8%each. Arterial aneurysm were seen in 13 (15%), while 10 (12%) have acute hemorrhagic stroke. Conclusions and recommendation: hypoplastic arteries in the posterior Circle of Willis are more common than the anterior portion. This study suggested that sex, age, presence of Hypoplastic arteries, stroke and aneurysm are important factors associated with the completeness of the Circle of Willis. The observed associations between completeness of Circle of Willis and the reduced likelihood of stroke and aneurysms warrant further investigation. Elucidating the underlying mechanisms may have important implications for the prevention and management of these cerebrovascular conditions. Keywords: Circle of Willis, Anatomical Variations, Hypoplastic arteries