Si-Yu Chen; Chen Chen; Ling Ding; Hong Liu; Ting Yang & Jiang Wu

This study aimed to compare the clinical value of carotid ultrasound and digital subtraction angiography (DSA) for carotid artery stenosis in patients with cerebral infarction. Sixty patients with cerebral infarction underwent carotid ultrasound and DSA. Carotid artery stenosis, degree of stenosis (mild, moderate, severe, and occlusion), and carotid artery plaques were recorded and compared. Carotid stenosis rate was 96.67 % (58/60) and 91.67 % (55/60) on DSA and carotid ultrasound, respectively, and the difference was not statistically significant. Mild, moderate, and severe carotid artery stenosis and occlusion were diagnosed in 35, 28, 20, and 17 arteries, respectively, with DSA, and in 39, 25, 10, and 9 arteries, respectively, with carotid ultrasound. There was a statistically significant difference in the degree of carotid stenosis between the two methods (p<0.05). The kappa value of carotid plaques detected by carotid ultrasound and DSA was 0.776, indicating good consistency. Both carotid ultrasound and DSA are effective for screening carotid artery stenosis and carotid atherosclerotic plaques. While carotid ultrasound is faster and more convenient, DSA can more accurately detect the degree of stenosis and presence of occlusion. Thus, our recommendation is a combination of carotid ultrasound and DSA in clinical settings to improve the convenience and accuracy of diagnosis.

KEYWORDS: Carotid ultrasound; Digital subtraction angiography; Carotid artery stenosis; Diagnostic value.

CHEN, S. Y.; CHEN, C.; DING, L.; LIU, H.; YANG, T. & WU, J. Comparison between carotid ultrasound and digital subtraction angiography in the diagnosis of carotid artery stenosis in patients with cerebral infarction. Int. J. Morphol., 40(6):1560-1565, 2022.