Relationship between transcranial Doppler and CT data in acute intracerebral hemorrhage.
OBJECTIVE
It would be useful to have a noninvasive test for correlation with CT findings in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). We determined which transcranial Doppler (TCD) variables are related to which CT data in patients with ICH.


METHODS
We prospectively included 51 patients (age +/- SD, 66.2 +/- 12.4 years; 30 men, 21 women) with first-ever supratentorial, nontraumatic ICH. CT and TCD examination were performed in the acute stage (less than 12 hours from symptom onset). TCD recordings were obtained from the middle cerebral arteries, and the following variables were analyzed: systolic (Vs), diastolic (Vd), mean (Vm) velocities, and pulsatiliy index from the affected (a) and unaffected (u) hemispheres.


RESULTS
PIs obtained for both hemispheres were positively correlated with hematoma volume (aPI, r=0.43, P=.001; uPI, r=0.44, P=.001), volume of hypoattenuation (aPI r=0.64, P <.0001; uPI, r=0.39, P=.005), total volume (aPI, r=0.59, P <.0001; uPI, r=0.48, P <.0001), and midline shift (aPI, r=0.28, P=.04; uPI, r=0.29, P=.03). Both PIs were increased in patients with intraventricular hemorrhage (aPI, P=.01; uPI P=.004). No TCD parameter was correlated with ventricular size.


CONCLUSIONS
Most TCD parameters were correlated with CT data in the acute stage of ICH. An increase in PI probably reflects intracranial hypertension and mass effect. Further studies are needed to determine the clinical application of our findings.
Martí-Fàbregas
Joan
J
Department of Neurology, Cerebrovascular Unit, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain.
Belvís
Roberto
R
Guàrdia
Esteve
E
Cocho
Dolores
D
Martí-Vilalta
Josep-Lluis
JL
D000208:Acute Disease; D000368:Aged; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity / Q000502:physiology; D001810:Blood Volume / Q000502:physiology; D002543:Cerebral Hemorrhage / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002552:Cerebral Ventricles / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020768:Middle Cerebral Artery / Q000473:pathology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D017585:Ultrasonography, Doppler, Transcranial