PROGNOSTIC USE OF ULTRASONOGRAPHY IN ACUTE NONHEMORRHAGIC CAROTID STROKE

In order to evaluate whether the results of ultrasound examination may be associated with 30-day outcome, 76 consecutive patients (43 men an d 33 women; mean age 68.1+/-8.9 years) underwent duplex scanning of th e carotid bifurcations and transcranial doppler investigation of the b asal skull arteries within the first few hours of the onset of an acut e carotid stroke. Forty-three patients (56.6%) had appropriate arteria l occlusion at ultrasounds examination. On day 30, 22 patients (28.9%) were self-sufficient, 41 (53.9%) were disabled and 13 (17.1%) were de ad. The chi-squared test showed that the ultrasound results were signi ficantly related to 30-day outcome (p=.0003). After logistic regressio n analysis, the ultrasound results remained independent predictors of 30-days outcome (p=.0129), together with neurological impairment 24 ho urs after stroke onset and lesion size at control computed tomography. Our study suggests that the results of ultrasound examination may be u seful in the management of acute carotid stroke as an early indicator of patients with a worse prognosis.