DUPLEX ULTRASOUND SCANNING FOR DIAGNOSIS OF AORTOILAC AND FEMOROPOPLITEAL ARTERIAL-DISEASE

Forty patients with symptomatic aortoiliac and/or femoropopliteal occl usive arterial disease subjected to angiography were studied with dupl ex ultrasonography. The duplex scanning of the aortic, iliac, femoral and popliteal segments had a sensitivity of 93% in detecting significa nt stenoses and a specificity of 91%. The positive and negative predic tive values were 75% and 98%, respectively. The sensitivity was relati vely low in low-flow segments distal to total occlusions especially in patients with severe iliac disease and multiple distal femoropoplitea l lesions. The results demonstrate the reliability of duplex scanning in detecting aortoiliac and femoropopliteal lesions.