[Color-Doppler and angioplasty in renovascular hypertension].
Renovascular hypertension is defined as a kind of hypertension secondary to altered renal perfusion with the activation of the renin-angiotensin system. Since a large number of these patients benefits from treatment--be it medical, surgical or angioplastic--a non-invasive low-cost method allowing accurate screening was looked for. Color-Doppler was employed by many authors to evaluate renovascular hypertension, for both the early diagnosis of the condition and the evaluation of treatment results in renal artery stenoses. However, the authors agree that color-Doppler cannot play a major role in the screening of renovascular hypertension due to the various qualitative and quantitative variables not being adequately codified, to the lack of a single color-Doppler method and to the difficult comparison of the results from the different units. Nevertheless, improved results are promised by technological evolution, together with the possibility to codify color-Doppler variables more easily repeatable. B-mode units with 3.5 and 5 MHz probes were employed in the thinnest subjects. In 5-25% of cases accessory renal arteries were observed. After identifying the vessel to be studied with several spatial scans, the smallest possible sample volume (usually 3-5 mm) was positioned. The normal flowmetric range was 0.07-0.1 s: it must not exceed 0.16 s, with persistence of high diastolic flow. Some authors' criteria were followed to define either stenosis or renal artery obstruction; moreover, pulsatile flow index was considered, together with the resistive index, pulsatility index and stenosis index.
Pavlica
P
P
Servizio di Radiologia, Ospedale Malpighi, Bologna.
Barozzi
L
L
Viglietta
G
G
Losinno
F
F
Dondi
M
M
De Fabritiis
A
A
Amato
A
A
Zuccala
A
A
D017130:Angioplasty; D003116:Color; D006801:Humans; D006978:Hypertension, Renovascular / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012077:Renal Artery / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D012078:Renal Artery Obstruction / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery; D014463:Ultrasonography / Q000379:methods
Color-Doppler e angioplastica nell'ipertensione renovascolare.