Cerebral microembolism in acute spontaneous internal carotid artery dissection

The rate and risk factors for early ischemic recurrence in patients with in ternal carotid artery dissection (ICAD) are largely unknown. Serial transcr anial Doppler (TCD) monitoring of microembolic signals (MES) was performed in 28 consecutive patients with acute ICAD, MES were identified in 13 patie nts, and early ischemic recurrence occurred in 7. Six of 13 patients with M ES and 1 of 15 without MES experienced early ischemic recurrence (p = 0.029 ). MES detection on serial TCD monitoring may be associated with an increas ed risk of early ischemic recurrence in patients with acute ICAD.