CONTRAST-ENHANCED COLOR-CODED DUPLEX SONOGRAPHY OF HIGH-GRADE CAROTID STENOSES

Purpose and methods: The usefulness of SH-U-508A (Laevovist(R)) in the quantification of high-grade internal carotid stenosis (ICA) is assessed in this study. 32 patients with high-grade ICA stenosis (>=70%) or occlusion are examined using colour Doppler-assisted duplex imaging (CDDI) before and after injection of SH-U-508A. Results: The SH-U-508A-induced increase in blood echogenicity started at 9.8 s (mean; SD: 2.2) after bolus injection and peaked at 21 dB (mean; SD: 1.9; n=12) after 14.8 s (mean; SD: 2.9). In addition, SH-U-508A led to a significant increase in systolic peak velocity determined in the common carotid artery, by 26% (mean; SD: 9; p < 0.05). Significant differences between nonenhanced and enhanced CDDI were found for the visualisation of the entire length of the intrastenotic residual lumen (43% vs 83%; p < 0.01). Correlations between non-enhanced and enhanced CDDI were high (r > 0.9) for the determination of cross-sectional area reduction and plaque length. Conclusion: SH-U-508A may be useful in quantifying high-grade ICA stenoses with insufficient delineation at non-enhanced CDDI.