Assessment: transcranial Doppler ultrasonography: report of the Therapeutics and Technology Assessment Subcommittee of the American Academy of Neurology.

OBJECTIVE: To review the use of transcranial Doppler ultrasonography (TCD) and transcranial color-coded sonography (TCCS) for diagnosis. METHODS: The authors searched the literature for evidence of 1) if TCD provides useful information in specific clinical settings; 2) if using this information improves clinical decision making, as reflected by improved patient outcomes; and 3) if TCD is preferable to other diagnostic tests in these clinical situations. RESULTS: TCD is of established value in the screening of children aged 2 to 16 years with sickle cell disease for stroke risk (Type A, Class I) and the detection and monitoring of angiographic vasospasm after spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage (Type A, Class I to II). TCD and TCCS provide important information and may have value for detection of intracranial steno-occlusive disease (Type B, Class II to III), vasomotor reactivity testing (Type B, Class II to III), detection of cerebral circulatory arrest/brain death (Type A, Class II), monitoring carotid endarterectomy (Type B, Class II to III), monitoring cerebral thrombolysis (Type B, Class II to III), and monitoring coronary artery bypass graft operations (Type B to C, Class II to III). Contrast-enhanced TCD/TCCS can also provide useful information in right-to-left cardiac/extracardiac shunts (Type A, Class II), intracranial occlusive disease (Type B, Class II to IV), and hemorrhagic cerebrovascular disease (Type B, Class II to IV), although other techniques may be preferable in these settings.

Comparison of transcranial color-coded sonography and magnetic resonance angiography in acute ischemic stroke.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: This study was designed to assess the accuracy of transcranial color-coded sonography (TCCS) as compared to magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) for detecting intracranial arterial stenosis in patients with acute cerebral ischemia. METHODS: The authors prospectively identified 120 consecutive patients admitted with acute ischemic stroke and performed both TCCS and MRA with a mean interval of 1 day. TCCS data (sampling depth, peak systolic and end diastolic angle-corrected velocity, mean angle-corrected velocity, and pulsatility index) for middle cerebral arteries (MCAs) were compared to MRA data and classified into 4 grades: normal (grade 1): normal caliber and signal; mild stenosis (grade 2): irregular lumen with reduced signal; severe stenosis (grade 3): absent signal in the stenotic segment (flow gap) and reconstituted distal signal; and possible occlusion (grade 4): absent signal. The cutoffs were chosen to maximize diagnostic accuracy. RESULTS: Interobserver agreement for MRA grading resulted in a weighted-kappa value of 0.776. The rate of poor temporal window was 37% (89/240). Doppler signals were obtained in 135 vessels, and the angle-corrected velocities (peak systolic, end diastolic, mean) were significantly different (P = .001, P = .006, and P < .001) among the MRA grades: grade 1 (100, 47, 68 cm/s), grade 2 (171, 72, 110 cm/s), grade 3 (226, 79, 134 cm/s), grade 4 (61, 26, 39 cm/s). Additionally, an angle-corrected MCA peak systolic velocity > or = 120 cm/s correlates with intracranial stenosis on MRA (grade 2 or worse) with high specificity (90.5%; 95% confidence interval = 78.5%-96.8%) and positive predictive value (93.9%) but relatively low sensitivity (66.7%; 95% confidence interval = 61.2%-69.5%) and negative predictive value (55.1%). CONCLUSION: Elevated MCA velocities on TCCS correlate with intracranial stenosis detected on MRA. An angle-corrected peak systolic velocity > or = 120 cm/s is highly specific for detecting intracranial stenosis as defined by significant MRA abnormality.

Lack of relation between severity of stroke and severity of extracranial internal carotid artery lesions in Taiwanese first-ever ischemic stroke patients.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The authors attempt to determine whether hemodynamically significant extracranial internal carotid artery (ICA) lesions correlate with the severity of first-ever hemispheric ischemic stroke. METHODS: Carotid duplex was used to evaluate carotid arteries. The National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale was used to describe the severity of the stroke and was stratified as follows: 1-6 = mild, 7-15 = moderate, > 15 = severe. Duplex findings were categorized according to velocity criteria into < 50% stenosis if ICA peak systolic velocity (PSV) (cm/s) < 140 and > 50% stenosis if ICA PSV > 140 or ratio of ICA and common carotid artery in PSV > 2. No detectable flow at ICA was considered occlusion. Stroke subtype was classified according to TOAST criteria. RESULTS: Two hundred nineteen consecutive patients were enrolled, including 127 with mild, 65 with moderate, and 27 with severe stroke. The prevalence of ICA stenosis > 50% in each group was 3.6%, 1.4%, 0.9%, respectively. Two patients in the severe group had total ICA occlusion. The overall prevalence of significant ICA lesions was 6.8%. CONCLUSIONS: There is no positive correlation of stroke severity with the severity of duplex findings, which may be due to low prevalence of significant ICA lesions or other stroke mechanisms. Most of the patients had mild stroke, and the majority had ICA stenosis < 50%. Small-vessel occlusion tended to have mild severity of stroke. Intracranial artery lesions or other factors causing stroke in Taiwanese should be investigated. Given the low incidence of significant extracranial carotid disease in symptomatic Taiwanese stroke patients, routine screening of symptomatic Taiwanese for extracranial carotid artery disease does not provide enough information to determine stroke mechanism, and transcranial Doppler should be added to the screening tests.

Middle cerebral artery flow velocity correlates with common carotid artery volume flow rate after CO2 inhalation.

Cerebral vasoreactivity can be studied with transcranial Doppler (TCD) by monitoring CO2-induced middle cerebral artery (MCA) velocity changes. Expected MCA mean velocity (Vm) changes due to changes in end-expiratory CO2 (EE-CO2) are established, but reactivity of common carotid artery (CCA) volume flow rate (VFR) has not been extensively reported. The authors assess the relationship between MCA Vm, CCA VFR, and EE-CO2. Ten normal individuals without cerebrovascular disease and with CCA diameters of more than 3.0 mm were studied. CCA VFR was obtained by Color Velocity Imaging Quantification and Ipsilateral MCA Vm by standard TCD methods. Each side was studied before, during, and after inhalation of 5% CO2. EE-CO2, blood pressure, and pulse rate were monitored. Four women and 6 men with mean age of 36 years were included. Significant correlations between MCA Vm and EE-CO2, CCA VFR and EE-CO2, and MCA Vm and CCA VFR were found. MCA Vm and CCA VFR increased 5.2% and 4.3% per mm Hg increase in EE-CO2, respectively. MCA Vm increased 0.3 cm/s for each ml/min increase in CCA VFR. In normal individuals, there is a direct correlation between MCA Vm, CCA VFR, and EE-CO2. Measurement of CCA VFR changes during CO2 inhalation may be an alternative method to estimate cerebral vasoreactivity when the MCA velocity cannot be obtained because of inadequate acoustic temporal windows.

Acoustic shadowing on B-mode ultrasound of the carotid artery predicts ischemic stroke: the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: We examined the relationship of carotid artery lesions (CALs), with and without acoustic shadowing (AS), to incident ischemic stroke events in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study cohort. METHODS: The study population consisted of 13 123 men and women aged 45 to 64 years, and free of stroke, examined during 1986-1989. Over an average follow-up time of 8.0 years, 226 incident ischemic stroke cases (thromboembolic brain infarctions) were identified and classified by a standardized protocol. Three levels of exposure were defined on the basis of the presence of B-mode ultrasound-detected CALs and AS in a 3-cm segment of the carotid arteries centered at the bifurcation. RESULTS: The hazard ratio for ischemic stroke adjusted for age, ethnicity, and study site for women with a CAL without AS, compared with those without a CAL, was 1.92 (95% CI, 1.23, 3.01), and the hazard ratio comparing those with a CAL with AS with those without a CAL was 4.01 (95% CI, 2.28, 7.06). The corresponding hazard ratios for men were 1.99 (95% CI, 1.36, 2.91) and 2.23 (95% CI, 1.32, 3.79). Although adjustment for diabetes, hypertension medication, systolic blood pressure, left ventricular hypertrophy score, fibrinogen, von Willebrand factor antigen, and smoking status attenuated these associations somewhat, when compared with no evidence of CALs, CALs with AS remained statistically significant predictors of ischemic stroke in women, while CALs without AS were predictive of ischemic stroke in men. CONCLUSIONS: B-mode ultrasound-detected CALs and AS serve as markers of atherosclerosis and thus are predictive of ischemic stroke.

A practical stroke severity scale predicts hospital outcomes.

GOAL: To develop a practical severity scale (Wake Forest Stroke Severity Scale [WFSSS]) to predict acute hospital outcomes and resource use after acute ischemic stroke based on the admission neurologic exam. BACKGROUND: A useful scheme enabling physicians and other health care providers to stratify stroke severity on admission to predict acute hospital outcomes and improve efficiency of inpatient care has not been described. METHODS: The study subjects consisted of 271 consecutive acute stroke patients admitted to the neurology department from July 1995 to June 1996 who were prospectively examined and whose stroke severity was classified on the basis of admission neurologic exam (level of consciousness, strength, dysphasia, neglect, and gait) as mild, moderate, or severe, based on the WFSSS. National Institutes of Health stroke scale (NIHSS) was performed early in admission (70% within 24 hours). Discharge disposition (home, inpatient rehabilitation [rehab], skilled nursing facility [SNF], or death); length of stay (LOS); and hospital charges were associated with initial stroke severity ratings using chi-square and Kruskal-Wallis tests. RESULTS: Fifty-percent (136) of strokes were classified as mild, 22% (60) as moderate, and 28% (75) as severe. Initial severity ratings were significantly related to discharge disposition, LOS, and hospital charges (all P values <.001). CONCLUSIONS: A practical clinical severity scale (WFSSS) for acute ischemic stroke patients based on admission neurologic examination predicts hospital disposition, LOS, and hospital charges, and may allow more accurate severity-adjusted comparisons among institutions.

Carotid Doppler high-intensity transient signals in dilated cardiomyopathy.

BACKGROUND: Thromboembolism is an infrequent but serious complication in dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), and the role of primary preventive antithrombotic or anticoagulation therapy is undetermined. High-intensity transient signals (HITS) by Doppler ultrasound representing microemboli have been described in various clinical settings associated with increased risk of stroke. This study assessed the feasibility, reproducibility, and prevalence of HITS in patients with DCM. METHODS: Thirty patients with severely reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (< or = 35%, mean 25%) and New York Heart Association class II to III who were not receiving antithrombotic or anticoagulant therapy and 20 age-matched normal subjects were prospectively examined. Patients with atrial fibrillation, significant cardiac valvular heart disease, a history of cerebrovascular disease, and those who otherwise required antithrombotic or anticoagulation therapy were excluded. One-hour pulsed-wave Doppler recordings over the common carotid artery (CCA) were performed on 3 separate days in each subject by a single, experienced, blinded sonographer with a 4-MHz probe (TC-2000, Nicolet/EME) with a specially designed probe holder. Studies were read in a blinded, random fashion by 2 independent, experienced HITS Doppler recording readers. RESULTS: HITS in the CCA were detected in 6 (20%) of 30 patients with DCM and in 3 (15%) of 20 volunteers. This difference was not statistically significant. Intrareader and interreader reproducibility were high (kappa = 0.91 and 0.84, respectively; P <.001), whereas intrasubject reproducibility over the 3 visits was moderate to low (kappa = 0.22). There was no significant difference between HITS characteristics, that is, intensity and duration, in patients versus controls. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of CCA HITS in patients with clinically stable heart failure who are not receiving anticoagulation/antithrombotic therapy and are not in atrial fibrillation is low and not significantly different from normal patients. These data suggest that HITS monitoring is not a viable surrogate marker for increased thromboembolic risk in such patients with DCM.

A new dynamic method for detection of internal jugular valve incompetence using air contrast ultrasonography.

The internal jugular (IJ) valve is the only valve between the heart and the brain, preventing venous reflux into the IJ vein. Internal jugular valve competence has been tested by IJ venography. Doppler ultrasonography of the IJ vein and M-mode ultrasonography of the IJ valve, and color flow imaging (CFI) of the IJ vein. However, interpretation of venous Doppler and CFI is difficult, and venography is invasive. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of a new dynamic method to test IJ valve competency, and to review the literature regarding the potential clinical importance of this pathophysiology. Ten patients had intravenous injection of agitated air and saline during Valsalva maneuver with B-mode monitoring and CFI of the right IJ vein. Contrast bubbles were clearly identified refluxing into the right IJ vein in 50% of patients. Air contrast studies more often showed IJ valve incompetence than CFI. Bubbles appeared in the IJ vein within 19.2 sec and persisted up to 282 sec. Bubble aggregation was also observed. There was no correlation between positive bubbles and the presence of spontaneous echo contrast on baseline B-mode imaging. Air contrast ultrasound venography (ACUV) is a new noninvasive method to assess competency of the IJ valves. This technique is feasible, appears to be more sensitive than CFI, and adds a new dimension to the study of the venous system in cerebrovascular disease. Potential clinical application includes evaluation of patients with increased central venous pressure, those with morning headaches, and those on positive end-expiratory pressure ventilators.

Mirror-image artifact can affect transcranial Doppler interpretation.

Transcranial Doppler ultrasonography (TCD) allows evaluation of blood-flow velocity in intracranial arteries detection and monitoring of vasospasm in patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage. Spectral Doppler artifacts can affect TCD data. A 1-month series of TCD findings showed marked fluctuation in blood-flow velocity values in both the middle and anterior cerebral arteries of a patient with subarachnoid hemorrhage. A mirror-image artifact of the Doppler fast Fourier transform velocity spectrum resulted in erroneous interpretation of higher flow velocity in certain vessels. This artifact may cause misinterpretation of TCD flow-velocity data and lead to improper diagnosis of the condition and treatment of patients.

Vagus nerve imaging with ultrasound: anatomic and in vivo validation.

To provide the anatomic basis and demonstrate the reproducibility of ultrasound studies for the identification of the vagus nerve within its course in the carotid sheath in the neck, cadaveric and in vivo imaging studies were conducted. On transverse B-mode images of the neck, there is a centrally hypoechoic and peripherally hyperechoic structure between the common carotid artery and the jugular vein inside the carotid sheath. This structure was also identified in a fresh, nonpreserved cadaver and was marked with a hypodermic needle by means of a transdermal approach. Neck dissection was performed leaving the carotid sheath intact. B-mode imaging yielded detailed anatomic information about the structures in the carotid sheath. Further dissection showed the vagus nerve as the target of the needle. One hundred consecutive transverse carotid scans were reviewed, and the characteristic echo patterns of the vagus nerve were identified in 97 instances. A distinct and reproducible, round, hypoechoic structure was defined adjacent to the common carotid artery and jugular vein as the vagus nerve. On the basis of this study, a new, noninvasive, and highly reproducible method to locate the vagus nerve in the carotid sheath is introduced. This may lead to further clinical application such as presurgical localization or ultrasound-guided needle studies. Stimulation of the vagus nerve has been proposed for seizure therapy. The diagnosis of vagus nerve tumors may be improved.

The evolving role of transcranial doppler in stroke prevention and treatment.

Without focusing on established indications for transcranial Doppler (TCD) such as monitoring vasospasm after subarachnoid hemorrhage and detecting intracranial stenosis (sickle cell disease, stroke, etc.), we describe the role of TCD in carotid endarterectomy (CEA) and angioplasty, acute ischemic stroke, as well as competence and the practice of TCD. In addition to duplex ultrasound and angiography TCD can be used to select patients for CEA because it detects hemodynamically significant extracranial stenosis and tandem intracranial stenoses, and identifies asymptomatic patients at potentially high risk of stroke because of exhausted vasomotor reactivity or brain microembolization. TCD identifies in real time brain hypoperfusion, embolism, and hyperperfusion and thus may be helpful in reducing cerebrovascular complications of CEA/angioplasty. In acute ischemic stroke, TCD can reliably identify the patency of middle cerebral and basilar arteries, high resistance flow patterns due to increased intracranial pressure, and progression to cerebral circulatory arrest. TCD also can monitor spontaneous or induced arterial recanalization. Limitations include operator and interpreter dependency, absent temporal "windows" leading to unsuccessful insonation in 10% to 15% of patients older than 60 years, as well as difficulties with probe positioning and fixation for monitoring. However, the use of ultrasound contrast agents and improved probe fixation devices help avoid these factors. The key to the successful practice of TCD is training of technical personnel and education of the interpreting and referring physicians as to when to use TCD and what to expect from it. The advantages of TCD should be given particular consideration: portability, repeatability, long-term monitoring, emboli detection, and inexpensiveness. TCD machines and transducers need to be tuned to the target disorders; that is, larger sample volume, higher power, and so forth, and TCD technology should be implemented in phases I to II as well as in phase III trials of preventive interventions and stroke therapies.

[Neuro-ultrasonographic evaluation of ischemic stroke]. / Valoración neurosonológica del ictus isquémico.

INTRODUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT: The development of new management strategies for acute stroke demands better understanding of the ischemic mechanism, cerebrovascular anatomy, and cerebral hemodynamics for individual patients. The use of carotid duplex sonography, transcranial Doppler sonography, and echocardiography allows evaluation of the key areas of interest in a prompt, safe, accurate, and cost effective manner. CONCLUSIONS: Knowledge of these methods is essential for neurologist caring for patients with stroke.

[Volume flow in carotid occlusion. Measurement using ultrasound time domains and color M mode analysis]. / Volumenfluss bei Karotisobstruktionen. Messung mittels Ultraschall-Zeit-Domänen- und Farb-M-Mode-Analyse.

AIM: To quantify the volume flow rate- (VFR-) effects of internal carotid disease on the common carotid artery both ipsi- and contralaterally for various degrees of stenosis. METHOD: A non-invasive ultrasonic time domain processing (M-mode) was used. This proved to be reproducible in vivo and accurate in vitro. 109 patients (mean age 66.7 yrs.) having at least 50% stenosis of the internal carotid artery or a cerebral ischaemia were studied. The haemodynamic effect of the stenosis on the entire anterior brain circulation supplied by the carotid artery was assessed. Stenoses were graded in 4 groups. RESULTS: Significant VFR reduction occurred ipsilaterally in high grade (75-94%) stenosis and occlusion of the internal carotid artery, but not with moderate (50-74%) stenosis (p < 0.05). Ipsilaterally to stenoses there was a decrease in VFR, which was more marked in higher than in lower grade stenoses. Contralaterally there was an increase in VFR. These groups differed in a statistically significant way (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: This ultrasonic VFR method demonstrates the flow effect of carotid stenoses both ipsi- and contralaterally and adds to the understanding of the haemodynamics in individual patients.

Serial transcranial Doppler monitoring after transient ischemic attack.

The natural course of ultrasonically detectable microembolism in patients with a symptomatic extracranial atherosclerotic lesion is not completely understood. Furthermore, the potential impact of therapeutic management on microemboli detection is anecdotal. A 58-year-old man who experienced a left-hemisphere transient ischemic attack presented with an extracranial ipsilateral high-grade carotid stenosis. He was studied 12 times in 12 months during different medical management, during which time he was symptom free, even though transcranial Doppler evidence of microemboli continued for 5 months.

Middle cerebral artery velocity correlates with nitroglycerin-induced headache onset.

Headache often accompanies treatment with nitroglycerin, but the cerebral hemodynamic effects and the exact mechanism of the headache are incompletely understood. Transcranial Doppler monitoring allows evaluation and monitoring of changes in blood flow velocity in the large intracranial arteries. The objective of this study was to assess middle cerebral artery (MCA) blood flow velocities with transcranial Doppler monitoring in subjects receiving continuous low-dose nitroglycerin intravenously or by patch, and correlate these with clinical headache. Twenty-eight normal adult men received nitroglycerin (0.12 micrograms/kg/min intravenously [n = 14] or 0.6 mg/min by transdermal patch [n = 14]), for up to 120 minutes, with monitoring of clinical headache status (standard 4-point scale), blood pressure, heart rate, end-expiratory PCO2 (CO2), and right MCA velocity. All subjects developed headache (mean time to onset, 34 min), reaching moderate or severe levels in 20. There were no differences in age, weight, mean blood pressure, mean heart rate, or resting end-tidal CO2 between those whose headache reached a moderate to severe level and those whose headache remained mild. MCA velocity decreased from baseline values at all levels of clinical headache (onset, -17%; moderate, -18%; severe, -16%; nitroglycerin stopped, -19%) (p, 0.0001 by t test for each stage of headache). MCA velocity remained decreased at the time of headache resolution (-14%; p < 0.001). Blood pressure, heart rate, and CO2 did not change significantly. There were no differences related to route of nitroglycerin dosing. These data show that continuous low doses of nitroglycerin by patch or intravenously produce headache in normal male subjects. MCA velocities were significantly decreased at headache onset and at all levels of headache severity. Changes in MCA velocity persisted beyond the clinical headache. These results suggest a direct MCA vasodilatory effect of nitroglycerin. This method may also be used to evaluate the intracranial hemodynamic effects of other vasoactive drugs, even in clinical settings.

Clinical cerebrovascular applications of arterial ultrasound volume flow rate estimates.

A variety of disorders affect cerebral hemodynamics. Volume flow rate (VFR) estimates now allow accurate quantification of the effect of cerebrovascular lesions on the conduit vessels, with excellent in vivo and in vitro correlation. Four selected cases with VFR data and angiographic correlation are presented to illustrate potential clinical uses of this method. The VFR estimates were obtained with a color M-mode-based velocity imaging technique, which uses time-domain processing (P-700 Color Velocity Imaging System, Philips Ultrasound International, Irvine, CA). In a patient awaiting coronary artery surgery, with unilateral internal carotid artery occlusion and contralateral angiographic stenosis (50-80%, reader variation), the baseline and acetazolamide-challenged common carotid artery VFRs showed excellent conduit function ipsilateral to this stenosis. Thus, the angiographic stenosis did not have significant hemodynamic effects and endarterectomy was avoided. In a patient with an arteriovenous malformation fed by the left vertebral and left external carotid arteries, high in the left cervical region, VFR estimates of two to three times normal predicted the feeding vessels, influenced management, and proved helpful in follow-up. In a patient with subclavian steal syndrome, VFR estimates quantified the steal after brachial hyperemia. Finally, in a patient with delayed vasoconstriction after subarachnoid hemorrhage, very low VFR estimates preceded clinical deterioration. Quantification of hemodynamic changes with VFR estimates was useful for the diagnosis, management, and follow-up of these patients with four types of cerebrovascular disease, and should be applicable in many others.

Ultrasonography for diagnosis and management of carotid artery atherosclerosis. A position paper of the American Society of Neuroimaging.

The importance of identifying patients with carotid artery stenosis has attained greater significance in light of recent treatment trials of the efficacy of medical and surgical treatment of both symptomatic and asymptomatic carotid stenosis. Doppler and B-mode ultrasonography can accurately diagnose and quantify stenosis at the cervical carotid artery bifurcation. The development of duplex color-flow instruments has enhanced the sensitivity and specificity of this examination. Ultrasonography should be employed as an initial examination to identify patients with carotid artery stenosis and determine whether further evaluation or treatment is necessary.

Peak velocity overestimation and linear-array spectral Doppler.

Ultrasound instruments are used to evaluate blood flow velocities in the human body. Most clinical instruments perform velocity calculations based on the Doppler principle and measure the frequency shift of a reflected ultrasound beam. Doppler-only instruments use single-frequency, single-crystal transducers. Linear- and annular-array multiple-crystal transducers are used for duplex scanning (simultaneous B-mode image and Doppler). Clinical interpretation relies primarily on determination of peak velocities or frequency shifts as identified by the Doppler spectrum. Understanding of the validity of these measurements is important for instruments in clinical use. The present study examined the accuracy with which several ultrasound instruments could estimate velocities based on the identification of the peak of the Doppler spectrum, across a range of different angles of insonation, on a Doppler string phantom. The string was running in a water tank at constant speeds of 50, 100, and 150 cm/sec and also in a sine wave pattern at 100- or 150-cm/sec amplitude. Angles of insonation were 30, 45, 60, and 70 degrees. The single-frequency, single-crystal transducers (PC Dop 842, 2-MHz pulsed-wave, 4-MHz continuous-wave) provided acceptably accurate velocity estimates at all tested velocities independent of the angle of insonation. All duplex Doppler instruments with linear-array transducers (Philips P700, 5.0-MHz; Hewlett-Packard Sonos 1000, 7.5-MHz; ATL Ultramark 9 HDI, 7.5-MHz) exhibited a consistent overestimation of the true flow velocity due to increasing intrinsic spectral broadening with increasing angle of insonation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Left dural to right cavernous sinus fistula. A case report.

Direct carotid-cavernous sinus fistulas that present with signs and symptoms contralateral to the arterial supply of the fistulas are not uncommon. We present a thoroughly documented case of a dural-cavernous sinus fistula with symptoms exclusively contralateral to the arterial source, a rarer entity. The patient presented with a red, proptotic right eye and a history of transient horizontal diplopia and a "feeling of fullness" in that eye. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain and orbits performed at another hospital had shown no abnormalities. Carotid angiography performed on the right side was normal; carotid angiography performed on the left side showed a dural-cavernous sinus fistula, with shunting from branches of the left external carotid artery directly to the right cavernous sinus. Orbital duplex color-flow sonography showed reverse flow in a dilated right superior ophthalmic vein. This unusual manifestation of a dural-cavernous sinus fistula offers insight into the pathophysiology of arteriovenous fistulas involving the cavernous sinus, and is a reminder that bilateral injections are required when performing carotid angiography to characterize these disorders.

Experimental aspects of high-intensity transient signals in the detection of emboli.

Experimental studies in the 1960s and 1970s demonstrated the high sensitivity of Doppler ultrasound in detecting gaseous bubbles. More recent studies have shown that microscopic air bubbles, as well as glass microspheres as small as 5 mu to 20 mu, cause characteristic high-intensity signals. Recently it has been demonstrated that less echogenic embolic materials such as thrombus, platelet aggregates, and atheroma can also be detected with a high sensitivity. Such "solid," or formed-element, emboli as small as 200 mu to 400 mu can be detected; the lower size limit of detection was due to an inability to make smaller embolic particles rather than to the sensitivity of the detection process itself. Analysis of the Doppler signals provides some information about embolus size and composition, but accurate characterization in clinical practice is not possible using current technology. Studies in experimental models have allowed the detailed description of embolic signals; they appear as a short-duration, frequency-focused increase in intensity, predominantly unidirectional in the direction of flow, and usually contained within the spectral envelope. In contrast, artifacts appear as a bidirectional, high-intensity increase with maximum intensity at low frequencies. These differences have been exploited to develop automatic embolus detection programs, and an off-line version has been successfully validated in an experimental model.