Application of intravascular ultrasound elastography in the diagnosis of carotid atherosclerotic plaques

Objective To observe the application value of intravascular ultrasound elastography in the diagnosis of carotid atherosclerotic plaques. Methods The data of 80 patients with carotid plaques who were admitted to Luoyang Center Hospital Affiliated to Zhengzhou University from January 2017 to January 2019 were enrolled and retrospectively analyzed. All patients underwent routine color Doppler ultrasound examination. According to plaque nature, patients were divided into soft plaque group (22 cases), mixed plaque group (30 cases) and hard plaque group (28 cases). They underwent intravascular ultrasound elastography. The real-time online interactive application value(ROIA value), strain rate (SR), plaque elasticity score and carotid stenosis were compared among the three groups. Results ROIA value in soft plaque group was the greatest , followed by mixed plaque group and hard plaque group (P<0.05). Arranging SR from low to high, the corresponding order was soft plaque group, mixed plaque group and hard plaque group (P<0.05). The elastic score of mixed plaque group was significantly higher than that of soft plaque group and hard plaque group (P<0.05). The carotid stenosis degrees in soft plaque group and mixed plaque group were significantly higher than that in hard plaque group (P<0.05). Conclusions The application of ultrasound elastography in the diagnosis of carotid atherosclerotic plaques can reflect plaque nature by ROIA and SR values, accurately evaluate plaque stability and carotid stenosis degree, which has important application value. Key words: Ultrasound elastography; Carotid artery; Atherosclerotic plaque; Diagnosis