title: B-mode and color Doppler ultrasound of the forearm arteries in the preoperative screening prior to coronary artery bypass grafting.
abstract: The objective of this paper was to establish the normal findings of B-mode and color Doppler ultrasound of the forearm arteries in candidates for coronary artery bypass grafting with radial artery graft. Examination of radial and ulnar arteries was performed in 127 patients. The vessel diameters and peak systolic velocities were measured and the presence of atherosclerotic changes, calcifications and anatomical variants was assessed. Radial artery proved to be dominant forearm artery with non-significant side-to-side asymmetry. The luminal changes were present in 30% of the patients. Ulnar arteries were more prone to these changes than radial arteries (28.4% vs. 24.4%). The anatomical variants found included ulnar artery hypoplasia in 3.9% of patients and high brachial artery bifurcation in 2.4% of patients. No cases of high-grade stenosis or occlusion were found. The results of the present study indicate that B-mode and color Doppler are valuable methods for preoperative screening as they enable morphological and functional evaluation of the forearm circulation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, University Hospital Dubrava, Zagreb, Croatia. renata.huzjan@zg.htnet.hr
authors.forename: Renata
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Huzjan
authors.forename: Boris
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Brkljacić
authors.forename: Diana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Delić-Brkljacić
authors.forename: Bojan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Biocina
authors.forename: Zeljko
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Sutlić
mesh_terms: D001161:Arteriosclerosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity; D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass; D005260:Female; D005542:Forearm / Q000098:blood supply*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011300:Preoperative Care; D017534:Radial Artery / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000637:transplantation; D012016:Reference Values; D012039:Regional Blood Flow; D017535:Ulnar Artery / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000637:transplantation; D018615:Ultrasonography, Doppler, Color