Evaluation of the stability of carotid atherosclerotic plaque with contrast-enhanced ultrasound
Purpose The aim of this study is to determine the stability of carotid atherosclerotic plaque (CAP) using contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS). Methods CEUS images of 93 patients were evaluated to observe new vessels within CAPs. Microembolic signals (MES) were detected using transcranial Doppler (TC...
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Published in | Journal of medical ultrasonics (2001) Vol. 43; no. 1; pp. 71 - 76 |
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Main Authors | , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Tokyo
Springer Japan
01.01.2016
Springer Springer Nature B.V |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Purpose
The aim of this study is to determine the stability of carotid atherosclerotic plaque (CAP) using contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS).
Methods
CEUS images of 93 patients were evaluated to observe new vessels within CAPs. Microembolic signals (MES) were detected using transcranial Doppler (TCD). Thirty-four patients with hyperechoic plaques were evaluated as the control group.
Results
Eighty percent (75/93) of plaques showed contrast enhancement on CEUS, including 50.7 % (38/75) of hypoechoic plaques and 49.3 % (37/75) of mixed echoic plaques. No plaques in the control group showed enhancement on CEUS. With TCD, 35.5 % (33/93) of patients were positive for MES. Plaques with grade 2 or 3 enhancement on CEUS had a higher positive rate for MES. Forty-one patients with grade 2 or 3 enhancement on CEUS presented with fresh infarctions confirmed by computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
Conclusions
In conclusion, grade 2 or 3 contrast enhancement observed on CEUS indicated vulnerable plaques. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 1346-4523 1613-2254 |
DOI: | 10.1007/s10396-015-0647-z |