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The transcranial doppler appearance of acute carotid artery occlusion
Author(s) -
Giller Cole A.,
Mathews Dana,
Purdy Phillip,
Kopitnik Thomas A.,
Batjer H. Hunt,
Samson Duke S.
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
annals of neurology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.764
H-Index - 296
eISSN - 1531-8249
pISSN - 0364-5134
DOI - 10.1002/ana.410310118
Subject(s) - transcranial doppler , medicine , middle cerebral artery , occlusion , doppler effect , cardiology , ultrasound , radiology , cerebral arteries , cerebral infarction , hemodynamics , ischemia , physics , astronomy
Transcranial Doppler ultrasound is a noninvasive technique of cerebral blood velocity measurement that is being increasingly used to detect untoward hemodynamic changes. In this report, we describe striking transcranial Doppler ultrasound changes occurring in 2 patients after cervical carotid artery occlusion that led to cerebral infarction. These changes consist of the sudden appearance of a Doppler signal of extremely low pulsatility and moderately high velocity in the middle cerebral artery distribution. In 1 patient, this signal was the first sign of carotid occlusion. We suggest that these transcranial Doppler ultrasound changes can provide an early warning of carotid artery compromise.