The impact of different spectral Doppler criteria on the proportion of high-grade internal carotid artery stenosis in patients undergoing duplex scanning.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the impact of different spectral Doppler criteria on the proportion of high-grade ICA stenosis in patients undergoing carotid artery duplex scanning.


METHODS
Duplex scans of 4,548 internal carotid arteries (ICA) in 2,349 patients were retrospectively analyzed. The following different criteria were applied for each scan for definition of ICA stenosis > or = 70%: Criteria I=ICA peak systolic velocity (PSV) > 130 cm/sec and ICA end-diastolic (EDV) > 100 cm/sec, Criteria II=PSV ICA/common carotid artery (CCA) ratio > 4, Criteria III=ICA PSV > or = 230 cm/sec, Criteria IV=ICA PSV > 230 cm/sec and/or ICA EDV > or = 100 cm/sec and/or PSV ICA/CCA ratio > or = 3.2.


RESULTS
The frequency of detecting a > or = 70% ICA stenosis with criteria I, II, III, and IV were 5.5%, 6.8%, 8.4%, and 9.6%, respectively (p < 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
The use of various duplex criteria significantly affected the number of scans receiving a diagnosis of ICA stenosis of > or = 70%.
Logason
Karl
K
Department of Surgery, University Hospital, Uppsala, Sweden.
Karacagil
Sadettin
S
Ulus
A Tulga
AT
Hårdemark
Hans-Göran
HG
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity / Q000502:physiology; D002343:Carotid Artery, Internal / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D016893:Carotid Stenosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018616:Ultrasonography, Doppler, Duplex / Q000379:methods*