[Peripheral stenosing-occlusive arteriopathies. Doppler echographic and digital angiographic evaluation]

The value of Doppler ultrasound examination and digital intravenous angiography was comparatively evaluated in 207 patients with peripheral vascular disease submitted to both techniques. Owing to the fact that in some patients more than one vascular district was examined, the overall number of evaluations was 232 Doppler ultrasounds and 233 digital angiographies. Doppler ultrasound revealed a normal picture in 18/232 cases, steno-occlusive disease in 186/232 cases and various pathological conditions in the remaining 18 cases. With digital angiography, normal vascularity was observed in 33/233 patients, while steno-occlusive disease was present in 164/233 and vascular anatomical abnormalities, like kinking, were found in 20 cases. Doppler/angiographical correlation was fairly good, being complete in 83/207 patients and substantial (i.e.: the same diagnosis but different degree of pathological involvement) in 79 additional cases: the overall diagnostic agreement between Doppler and angiography was 162/207 cases (78%). False negative Doppler results were 29/207, while the false positive Doppler examinations were 16/207. The most common causes of diagnostic errors are evaluated and discussed, both for Doppler ultrasound and for digital angiography. Arterial kinking and vascular abnormalities are recognized as an obvious cause of wrong Doppler diagnoses which can be easily discovered by the angiographic picture. The usefulness of performing both techniques in combination is demonstrated and stressed.