title: Optimal carotid duplex velocity criteria for defining the severity of carotid in-stent restenosis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The optimal duplex ultrasound (DUS) velocity criteria to determine in-stent carotid restenosis are controversial. We previously reported the optimal DUS velocities for >or=30% in-stent restenosis. This prospective study will further define the optimal velocities in detecting various severities of in-stent restenosis: >or=30%, >or=50%, and 80% to 99%.
  
  
  METHODS
  The analysis included 144 patients who underwent carotid artery stenting as a part of clinical trials. All patients had completion arteriograms and underwent postoperative carotid DUS imaging, which was repeated at 1 month and every 6 months thereafter. Patients with peak systolic velocities (PSVs) of the internal carotid artery (ICA) of >or=130 cm/s underwent carotid computed tomography (CT)/angiogram. The PSVs and end-diastolic velocities of the ICA and common carotid artery (CCA) and the PSV of the ICA/CCA ratios were recorded. Receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis was used to determine the optimal velocity criteria for the diagnosis of >or=30, >or=50, and >or=80% restenosis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean follow-up was 20 months (range, 1-78 months). Available for analysis were 215 pairs of imaging (DUS vs CTA/angiography) studies. The accuracy of CTA vs carotid arteriogram was confirmed in a subset of 22 patients (kappa = 0.81). The ROC analysis demonstrated that an ICA PSV of >or=154 cm/s was optimal for >or=30% stenosis with a sensitivity of 99%, specificity of 89%, positive-predictive value (PPV) of 96%, negative-predictive value (NPV) of 97%, and overall accuracy (OA) of 96%. An ICA EDV of 42 cm/s had sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, and OA in detecting >or=30% stenosis of 86%, 62%, 87%, 60%, and 80%, respectively. An ICA PSV of >or=224 cm/s was optimal for >50% stenosis with a sensitivity of 99%, specificity of 90%, PPV of 99%, NPV of 90%, and OA of 98%. An ICA EDV of 88 cm/s had sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, and OA in detecting >or=50% stenosis of 96%, 100%, 100%, 100%, 53%, and 96%. An ICA/CCA ratio of 3.439 had sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, and OA in detecting >or=50% stenosis of 96%, 100%, 100%, 100%, 58%, and 96%, respectively. An ICA PSV of >or=325 cm/s was optimal for >80% stenosis with a sensitivity of 100%, specificity of 99%, PPV of 100%, NPV of 88%, and OA of 99%. An ICA EDV of 119 cm/sec had sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, and OA in detecting >or=80% stenosis of 99%, 100%, 100%, 100%, 75%, and 99%, respectively. The PSV of the stented artery was a better predictor for in-stent restenosis than the end-diastolic velocity or ICA/CCA ratio.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The optimal DUS velocity criteria for in-stent restenosis of >or=30%, >or=50%, and >or=80% were the PSVs of 154, 224, and 325 cm/s, respectively.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Robert C Byrd Health Sciences Center, West Virginia University, Charleston, WV 25304, USA. ali.aburahma@camc.org
authors.forename: Ali F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: AbuRahma
authors.forename: Shadi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Abu-Halimah
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bensenhaver
authors.forename: L Scott
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Dean
authors.forename: Tammi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Keiffer
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Emmett
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Flaherty
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000800:Angioplasty, Balloon / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000295:instrumentation*; D017536:Carotid Artery, Common / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D002343:Carotid Artery, Internal / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D016893:Carotid Stenosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D006083:Graft Occlusion, Vascular / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012372:ROC Curve; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D015607:Stents; D013997:Time Factors; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D018616:Ultrasonography, Doppler, Duplex