MRI and ultrasonographic imaging of a patient with carotidynia

A patient presented with a painful, pulsating nodosity with marked tenderness on the right side of her neck. Cervical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) exhibited pathological signal changes in the perivascular tissue of the carotid bifurcation area and around the external carotid artery. Similarly, Doppler sonography revealed an echo-poor wall change with outward bulging and slight narrowing of the affected vessel lumen. The clinical symptoms and our findings led to the diagnosis of carotidynia. We proposed that cervical MRI and Doppler sonography could be used for diagnosing carotidynia.