Nonatherosclerotic pathology of the neck vessels: Prevalence and flow patterns Article

Labropoulos, N, Leon, LR, Gonzalez-Fajardo, JA et al. (2007). Nonatherosclerotic pathology of the neck vessels: Prevalence and flow patterns . Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, 41(5), 417-427. 10.1177/1538574407303176

cited authors

  • Labropoulos, N; Leon, LR; Gonzalez-Fajardo, JA; Mansour, AM; Kang, SS

abstract

  • Objectives: To determine the prevalence and flow characteristics of nonatherosclerotic pathologies of the cervical vessels. Design: From 1997 to 2003, 11 480 ultrasound tests were performed for neck vessel evaluation on patients with cerebrovascular symptoms and trauma, and on asymptomatic patients with a bruit, cervical mass, or prior to aortocoronary bypass. When necessary, these findings were confirmed by other imaging modalities. Results: A total of 3010 repeated tests were excluded, leaving 8470 patients. The prevalence of nonatherosclerotic pathologies (n = 55) was 0.65%. The most common was thromboembolism (n = 19, 0.22%), followed by dissection (n = 16, 0.19%), carotid body tumors (n = 5, 0.06%), aneurysms (n = 4, 0.05%), fibromuscular dysplasia (n = 4, 0.05%), Takayasu's arteritis (n = 1, 0.01%), pseudoaneurysms (n = 5, 0.06%), and arteriovenous fistulae (n = 1, 0.01%). Cerebrovascular symptoms were present in 27 patients (49%). Conclusion: Nonatherosclerotic pathology accounts for 0.65% of patients referred for neck vessel evaluation. About half of them are symptomatic. Diagnosis of these pathologies and knowledge of their flow characteristics is important for patient management. © 2007 Sage Publications.

authors

publication date

  • October 1, 2007

published in

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

start page

  • 417

end page

  • 427

volume

  • 41

issue

  • 5