Clinical applications of transcranial Doppler sonography

Abstract

Transcranial Doppler sonography (TCD) is used to assess cerebral blood flow velocity in basal cerebral arteries and is a common tool for the diagnosis and follow-up of cerebrovascular disease. With more than 200 clinical studies using TCD published annually, indications for its use are expanding. The current article critically reviews standard and recent clinical applications for TCD including delayed vasospasm after subarachnoid hemorrhage, sickle cell disease, atherosclerosis of cranial vessels, ischemic stroke, brain trauma, brain death, carotid artery disease, cerebral venous thrombosis, intraoperative TCD monitoring, arteriovenous malformations, cardiac shunts and preeclampsia.