A preliminary study on colour Doppler ultrasound for the evaluation of intervertebral stenosis of the vertebral artery.

AIM: To determine the optimal thresholds for assessing intervertebral segment stenosis through haemodynamic parameters of colour Doppler ultrasound compared with computed tomography (CT) angiography.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty-four patients diagnosed with intervertebral stenosis on colour Doppler imaging were included. Twenty patients with normal vertebral arteries constituted a control group. Peak systolic velocity at the intervertebral stenosis (PSVIV-S ) and the intervertebral segment distal to the stenosis (PSVIV-D ), end diastolic velocity at the intervertebral stenosis (EDVIV-S ), and the intervertebral segment distal to the stenosis (EDVIV-D ) were measured, and the ratios of PSVIV-S /PSVIV-D and EDVIV-S /EDVIV-D were calculated. Cut-off values for the diagnosis of <50%, 50-69%, and 70-99% stenosis were determined using a receiver operating characteristics curve.

RESULTS: The optimal cut-off values of haemodynamic parameters for evaluating the intervertebral artery for <50% stenosis were PSVIV-S ≥81.5 cm/s, EDVIV-S ≥24.5 cm/s, PSVIV-S /PSVIV-D ≥1.49, and EDVIV-S /EDVIV-D ≥1.28; for 50-69% stenosis were PSVIV-S ≥137.5 cm/s, EDVIV-S ≥36.5 cm/s, PSVIV-S /PSVIV-D ≥3.14, and EDVIV-S /EDVIV-D ≥2.75; and for 70-99% stenosis were PSVIV-S ≥216 cm/s, EDVIV-S ≥55 cm/s, PSVIV-S /PSVIV-D ≥4.31, and EDVIV-S /EDVIV-D ≥4.16. PSVIV-S /PSVIV-D was the most superior haemodynamic parameter, with areas under the curve of 1.000, 0.906, and 0.968 for the diagnosis of <50%, 50-69%, and 70-99% stenosis, respectively.

CONCLUSION: Colour Doppler sonography reliably identifies intervertebral stenosis. The results can be used as a preliminary reference for evaluating intervertebral stenosis.