Colour coded duplex sonography in ischemic finger artery disease--a comparison with hand arteriography.
BACKGROUND
A reliable non-invasive diagnostic procedure is desirable to exclude arterial pathology in patients with pain in their fingers.


METHODS
The results of colour coded duplex sonography (CCDS) in 450 finger arteries (45 hands/41 patients) were compared with findings obtained by intra-arterial digital subtraction arteriography (i.a.-DSA). The population consisted of symptomatic patients with a high risk for finger artery pathologies.


RESULTS
Arteriography of the hand documented finger artery occlusion in 35.6% of these patients. CCDS is capable of detecting pathological alterations in finger arteries with high accuracy and can differentiate them from regular arteries. In patients with several diseases of the finger arteries, the ultrasound diagnosis concurred with arteriography in 93.1% of patent arteries. In patients with occluded arteries the accuracy of CCDS was 86.3%.


CONCLUSIONS
When assessing diseases of finger arteries non-invasive CCDS should be used routinely before referring the patient to arteriography. The latter is only indicated when there is a need to image the whole arterial trunk of the upper extremity or the hand, or in case of equivocal results of CCDS.
Langholz
J
J
Innere und Radiologische Abteilung, Franziskus-Krankenhaus, Berlin.
Ladleif
M
M
Blank
B
B
Heidrich
H
H
Behrendt
C
C
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015901:Angiography, Digital Subtraction; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity; D005260:Female; D005385:Fingers / Q000098:blood supply*; D005583:Fourier Analysis; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D007511:Ischemia / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D018615:Ultrasonography, Doppler, Color