Value of color Doppler ultrasound on assessing blood flow in Takayasu arteritis with carotid steal

Objective To demonstrate the value of color Doppler ultrasound in evaluating carotid artery hemodynamics of carotid steal in patients with Takayasu arteritis (TA).Methods Nineteen TA patients with carotid steal were enrolled as case groups,while 19 healthy volunteers were considered as healthy controls.All the case groups and healthy controls were taken the examination of the common,external,and internal carotid arteries and the vertebral artery under quiescent condition.Bilateral carotid ultrasonography studies were performed,which included gray-scale,pulsed Doppler,and color Doppler ultrasound examinations using 5-8 MHz linear transducers.Results In case groups,blood flow in the internal carotid artery (ICA) was noted cephalad and demonstrated a low frequency,damped,even vein-liked waveform.The peak systolic velocity (PSV) of the ICA in the patients was obviously lower than that in the healthy controls (P ＜0.001).The blood flow in the external carotid artery(ECA) was retrograde.There was a good correlation in the PSV between the external and internal carotid artery,correlation coefficient(r)was 0.77.The vertebral artery (VA) displayed a normally directed flow,significantly larger diameter and higher flow velocity (P ＜ 0.001).Conclusions Color Doppler ultrasonography can sensitively identify carotid steal and permit quantification of carotid artery flow velocities and vertebral artery diameters,which may contribute to guide clinical diagnosis. Key words: Ultrasonography,Doppler,color; Takayasu arteritis; Carotid stenosis; Carotid steal