Sonographic characteristics of carotid artery plaques: Implications for follow-up planning?

Unlabelled: The aim of our study was to analyze the ultrasound characteristics of carotid plaques in an outpatient population and to determine their implications for planning the ultrasound follow-up.

Materials And Methods: We studied 747 consecutive outpatients (397 [53%] of whom were women) who underwent color Doppler sonography of the carotid arteries. Most of the patients presented multiple cardiovascular risk factors or were being followed-up for carotid artery stenosis.

Thyroid nodules treated with percutaneous radiofrequency thermal ablation: a comparative study.

Purpose: Percutaneous radiofrequency thermal ablation (RTA) was reported as an effective tool for the management of thyroid nodules (TNs). The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of RTA and to establish whether they were treatment-related by comparison with a matched, untreated control group.

Patients And Methods: The study population included 40 patients with compressive TNs: 22 had nontoxic TNs, and 18 had toxic TNs and were treated with methimazole.

Ischemic steal syndrome in a hemodialysis patient: The roles of Doppler ultrasonography and dynamic Doppler studies in diagnosis and treatment selection.

Ischemic steal syndrome (ISS) is a complication that can occur after the construction of a vascular access for hemodialysis. It is characterized by ischemia of the hand caused by marked reduction or reversal of flow through the arterial segment distal to the arteriovenous fistula (AVF). The diagnosis of hand ischemia is based on physical examination, but imaging studies are very useful for detecting the true cause of ischemia and for selecting an appropriate therapeutic strategy.

Thyroid nodules and related symptoms are stably controlled two years after radiofrequency thermal ablation.

Background: Percutaneous radiofrequency thermal ablation (RTA) is a promising new therapeutic approach to manage thyroid nodules (TNs). The aim of this study was to investigate the long-term effectiveness of RTA in inducing shrinkage of TNs as well as in controlling compressive symptoms and thyroid hyperfunction in a large series of elderly subjects with solid or mainly solid benign TNs.

Methods: Ninety-four elderly patients with cytologically benign compressive TNs were prospectively enrolled in the study; 66 of them had nontoxic goiter and 28 had toxic or pretoxic goiter.

The efficacy of liver biopsy under ultrasonographic guidance on an outpatient basis.

Objective: To evaluate the safety and compliance of outpatient echo-guided liver biopsy (ELB) when compared to those performed on inpatients (IP).

Methods: From June 1996 to November 2000, we carried out 418 ELB on patients with diffuse liver disease: 246 inpatients (IP ELB) and 172 in a Day Hospital setting (DH ELB). The same inclusion and exclusion criteria were followed for both groups of patients, performing the same echo-guided intercostal liver biopsy with free-hand technique and post biopsy assessment with colordoppler examination; post biopsy follow-up consisted of 6-h bed rest and blood pressure and heart rate monitoring up to discharge.

Increased arterial intima-media thickness by B-M mode echodoppler ultrasonography in acromegaly.

Background: Patients with acromegaly have an increased morbidity and mortality for cardiovascular diseases. Despite the increasing evidence for the existence of a specific cardiomyopathy in acromegaly, the presence of vascular abnormalities has been never investigated.

Objective: To evaluate the cardiovascular risk and premature atherosclerosis in acromegaly.

Analysis of color Doppler signal intensity variation after levovist injection: a new approach to the diagnosis of thyroid nodules.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of a galactose-based ultrasonographic contrast agent, Levovist (Schering AG, Berlin, Germany), in differentiating benign from malignant thyroid nodules by analysis of the time-intensity curves correlating the variation of the intensity signal value during the contrast transit time. Fifty-four patients scheduled for surgical removal of a nodule or the thyroid gland or both after cytologic examination were enrolled in this study; all of the nodules underwent a baseline color and power Doppler evaluation and then to a color Doppler examination after an intravenous bolus injection of Levovist. The time-intensity curves were analyzed with respect to the histologic results.

Power Doppler improves the diagnostic accuracy of color Doppler ultrasonography in cold thyroid nodules: follow-up results.

The usefulness of a recent color Doppler (CD) ultrasonography technique, named power Doppler (PD), was evaluated in the diagnosis of thyroid nodules showing low or absent uptake of (99m)Tc-pertechnetate, in order to investigate the possibility to improve the diagnostic accuracy of ultrasonography. The rationale was the evidence that at PD the color map displays the total integrated Doppler power in color, while CD generally displays an estimate of the mean Doppler shift. The vascular patterns recorded at PD and CD evaluation of 322 thyroid nodules were compared to the results of cytology and/or histology, when surgery was performed.

Power Doppler ultrasonographic assistance in percutaneous ethanol injection of autonomously functioning thyroid nodules.

The purpose of this study was to explore the potential role of power Doppler sonography in guiding percutaneous ethanol injection of autonomously functioning thyroid nodules. Thirty-two patients with pretoxic adenoma and 15 with toxic adenoma underwent percutaneous ethanol injection under power Doppler sonographic guidance. All patients with pretoxic adenoma and 13 of 15 patients with toxic adenoma were treated successfully (normalization of circulating thyroid hormones and thyroid stimulating hormone levels and disappearance of nodular hyperactivity with complete recovery of extranodular tracer uptake at scintigraphy).

Percutaneous ethanol injection under Power Doppler ultrasound assistance in the treatment of autonomously functioning thyroid nodules.

Power Doppler (PD) is a recent color-Doppler Ultrasound (US)-technique, which allows to detect the presence of flow even in very small vessels, providing a sort of angiographic micromap. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether percutaneous ethanol injection (PEI) outcome might be improved by injecting the ethanol into the nodule under PD assistance. Thus, 14 patients affected with pretoxic (PTA) and 8 with toxic adenoma (TA) were submitted to this alternative tool.

Usefulness of power Doppler in the diagnostic management of hypoechoic thyroid nodules.

Objective: The usefulness of power Doppler (PD), a new color Doppler ultrasonography technique, namely in the diagnosis and management of hypoechoic thyroid nodules in comparison with color Doppler (CD) is investigated in this study. Patients and methods: 157 hypoechoic thyroid nodules were studied by CD and PD. The distribution of vascular patterns was compared with the results obtained at cytology and/or histology.

[Usefulness of color echo Doppler with power Doppler in the diagnosis of hypoechoic thyroid nodules: work in progress].

The aim of this study was twofold: first, to improve the predictive value of ultrasonography (US) in differentiating benign from malignant thyroid nodules and, second, to investigate whether color Doppler and power Doppler can distinguish different morpho-hemodynamic patterns of hypoechoic thyroid nodules according to their vascularity. Twenty-nine patients with hypoechoic thyroid nodule(s) were entered into this work in progress. Three typical power Doppler patterns were recorded and compared with color Doppler patterns and with cytologic and/or histologic findings.