[Quantitative sonography of peripheral arteriovenous malformations]

Congenital vascular malformations occur in 1.5% of the general population. Depending on their localization and morphology, with dysfunction of local and central hemodynamics as well as tissue metabolism, congenital peripheral arteriovenous malformations (AVM) are of particular importance within the larger, heterogeneous group of diseases which comprise vascular malformations.

The aim of this study was to evaluate our ability to quantity peripheral congenital AVM using sonographic, functional-hemodynamic, and morphological parameters.

Apart from obtaining a medical history and applying clinical and venous occlusion plethysmographic diagnostics, sonographic examinations of peripheral arteries and veins using cw-Doppler sonography and color-coded duplex sonography were performed on 8 patients with peripheral congenital AVM. For comparative purposes, the results of pre-intervention angiography examinations were also considered.

For a sonographic quantification of AVM at the time of diagnosis, during assessments of diseases progress, and postinterventionally, both the resistance index of Pourcelot and measurement of the vascular blood flow velocities appeared to be particularly appropriate as functional-hemodynamic parameters. The sonomorphological parameters reflect the individual vascular pathology, which is determined by hemodynamic changes.

Functional-hemodynamic and sonomorphologic parameters allow a quantification of AVM. With knowledge of the clinical picture acquired at the time, they provide the basis for deciding upon a more extensive pre-interventional invasive radiological diagnosis.