Flow volume in the common carotid artery detected by color duplex sonography: an approach to the normal value and predictability of cerebral blood flow.
OBJECTIVE
To determine normal common carotid artery (CCA) flow volume, its relationship with age, and the predictability of cerebral blood flow (CBF) by color duplex sonography.


METHODS
Forty-five healthy subjects (18 men, 27 women, 23-86 years old) and 13 patients (3 men, 10 women, 51-88 years old) without neurological disease underwent color duplex sonography. All 13 patients also underwent xenon CT. CCA flow volume in the healthy subjects was measured to determine normal values. This volume was divided by mean brain weight to estimate CBF, which was correlated with CBF measured by xenon CT in regions of ipsilateral internal carotid arteries (ICA).


RESULTS
In healthy subjects, CCA flow volume ranged from 155.0-458.8 ml/min (mean+/-SD: 267.77+/-59.91), corresponding to an estimated CBF of 12.43-32.84 ml/min/100 g brain weight (mean+/-SD: 20.63+/-4.22). No relationship was found between flow volume and age. A good correlation was found between estimated CBF and CBF measured by xenon CT in regions of both ICAs (gamma=0.713, p=0.0062 on the left; gamma=0.686, p=0.0096 on the right).


CONCLUSIONS
By using color duplex sonography, we established a set of normal CCA flow volumes, which do not decline with age. Estimated CBF derived from flow volume can predict actual CBF.
Chu
B C
BC
Department of Radiology, Hokkaido University School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan.
Narita
A
A
Aoki
K
K
Yoshida
T
T
Warabi
T
T
Miyasaka
K
K
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity; D017536:Carotid Artery, Common / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D002560:Cerebrovascular Circulation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012016:Reference Values; D018615:Ultrasonography, Doppler, Color; D017585:Ultrasonography, Doppler, Transcranial; D014978:Xenon
D014978:Xenon