Acceleration time ratio for the assessment of extracranial internal carotid artery stenosis
Hidehiro Takekawa1, Keisuke Suzuki2, Etsuo Takada3
1Stroke Division, Department of Neurology, Dokkyo Medical University, 880 Kitakobayashi, Mibu, Shimotsuga, Tochigi, 321-0293, Japan. htakekawa-jscn@umin.ac.jp.
Purpose:
To apply the acceleration time (AcT) ratio as an additional marker for diagnosing internal carotid artery (ICA) stenosis.
Methods:
Carotid artery sonography was performed in 140 patients, and the AcT ratio was calculated as the AcT of the ICA divided by the AcT of the ipsilateral common carotid artery, and compared with diameter stenosis.
Results:
There was a significant correlation between diameter stenosis and the AcT ratio. The receiver operating characteristic curve revealed a cutoff level of 1.5, with 90.0 % sensitivity and 93.5 % specificity for stenosis >65 %.
Conclusion:
Our results indicate that applying the AcT ratio can help in the diagnosis of ICA stenosis.
