Minerva Endocrinology 2021 May 12

DOI: 10.23736/S2724-6507.21.03456-4

Copyright © 2021 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Value of transcranial color-code Doppler in evaluating intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis in patients with diabetes mellitus type 2: a comparison of transcranial Doppler and computed tomography angiography

Ai’nan GUO ¹, Peng FU ², Yue’e WU ¹, Haijun DAN ¹ ✉

¹ Department of Physical Examination, The Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, China; ² Department of Nuclear Medicine, The Third Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, China

BACKGROUND: There are several imaging assessment methods for intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis (ICAS). This study investigated the most efficient method by which to diagnose ICAS in patients with diabetes mellitus.
METHODS: One hundred seven patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus were enrolled as the experimental group and 68 healthy subjects were designated as the control group. The experimental group was examined with transcranial color-code Doppler (TCCD) and transcranial Doppler (TCD). Sixty-five patients in the experimental group were diagnosed by computed tomography angiography (CTA) on a voluntary basis. The 68 subjects in the control group were examined by TCCD alone.
RESULTS: Based on TCCD examinations, the ICAS positivity rate was 71.0% (76/107) in the experimental group, which was greater than the 42.6% (29/68) in the control group (χ2 = 13.954, P＜0.001). The middle cerebral artery was most frequently affected by ICAS (χ2 = 4.684，P=0.030), with a higher incidence of moderate and severe stenosis (χ2 =4.510，P=0.034). The ICAS positivity rate was 64.6% (42/65) by TCCD, 75.4% (49/65) by CTA, and 53.8% (35/30) by TCD. There was a statistically significant difference between the TCCD and CTA (χ2=1.795, P=0.180) and between the TCD and CTA (χ2=6.594, P=0.010) positivity rates.
CONCLUSIONS: ICAS is expected to occur in patients with diabetes mellitus more often than healthy subjects, and to involve the middle cerebral artery with moderate-to-severe stenosis. The ICAS positivity rate evaluated by TCCD was lower than CTA and higher than TCD.

KEY WORDS: Computed tomography angiography; Diabetes mellitus; Intracranial arterial stenosis; Transcranial Doppler; Transcranial color-code Doppler