Application of Vertebral Artery Ultrasonography in Enlistment-Age Male Student Pilots

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the vertebral artery (VA) morphology of enlistment-age male student pilots with ultrasound to provide a basis for early diagnosis of potentially asymptomatic cervical vertigo. Ultrasound results of the origin position, diameter and hemodynamics of the VA in 935 cases of student pilots with a mean age of 18.0 y were analyzed. The inner diameters of both sides of the VA differ: the left is larger than the right statistically (p < 0.001). Moreover, the peak systolic velocity of the left VA is significantly greater than that of the right (p < 0.001). Congenital VA anomalies in age-appropriate male student pilots included inner diameter variation, course variation and origin position variation. The incidence of course variation or origin position proportion was low (3.46%, 32/925), and origin position variation was often accompanied by inner diameter variation or course variation. This study confirms that there are a variety of congenital abnormalities in the vertebral arteries of enlistment-age male student pilots, and a VA diameter <2.5 mm may be a reasonable criterion for diagnosis of VA hypoplasia.