Evaluation of extracranial carotid artery disease by ultrasonic duplex scanning: a clinical perspective

Abstract

The development of noninvasive methods of extracranial carotid artery evaluation over the past decade has led to questions as to their usefulness in daily clinical practice. They have generally been proposed for use in screening asymptomatic patients with bruits or those about to undergo major operative procedures. Since patients with focal symptoms are considered candidates for arteriography, noninvasive tests in this situation may be redundant. However, as the accuracy of the imaging and pulsed Doppler methods has improved, it is appropriate to re-examine this question. Based upon our experience, it is our current feeling that initial screening using ultrasonic Duplex scanning does have a place in symptomatic patients and can be shown to be cost effective.