THE USE OF INTRACORONARY ULTRASOUND FOR QUANTITATIVE ASSESSMENT OF CORONARY-ARTERY LUMEN DIAMETER AND FOR ONLINE EVALUATION OF ANGIOPLASTY RESULTS

The value of intracoronary ultrasound for quantitative assessment of m inimal coronary arterial diameter and for on-line evaluation of balloo n angioplasty result was studied in 42 patients undergoing single vess el coronary angioplasty.Measurement of minimal luminal diameter of 75 matched coronary arterial segments showed a significant correlation be tween both the ultrasound and angiographic method (r:0.759; p<0.001). Furthermore using intravascular ultrasound it was possible to classify the obtained coronary balloon angioplasty results. A preliminary corr elation between ultrasound classification and the in-hospital acute re thrombosis as well as late restenosis was attempted in individual pati ents. Conclusions : 1) Clinical use of coronary ultrasound is feasible and safe in selected cases. 2) A significant correlation between intr acoronary ultrasound and quantitative coronary angiography is demonstr ated. 3) Using intracoronary ultrasound seems promising for evaluation of the postangioplasty result, and may finally lead to improved selec tion of the interventional strategy.