Correlation between stroke and neovascularization in carotid plaque by superb micro-vascular imaging

Abstract

Objective To investigate the correlation between stroke and neovascularization in carotid plaque by superb micro-vascular imaging (SMI). Methods A total of 200 patients with hypoechoic artery plaque in the routine arterial ultrasound examination of Xinyang Central Hospital from May 2016 to June 2018 were selected as the study object. According to the stroke disease history, the patients were divided into group A (n=63) and group B (n=137). All patients were examined by routine ultrasound - SMI - contrast-enhanced ultrasound. The score and the detection rate of neovascularization in arterial plaques were evaluated. All patients were followed up for 1 year after the examination, and the incidence of stroke in patients with different neovascularization scores within 1 year were recorded. Results Kappa test analysis showed that the results of contrast-enhanced ultrasound and SMI were highly consistent. The incidence of stroke among patients with contrast-enhanced ultrasound score and SMI scores of 2-3 scores was higher than those of 0-1 score (P 0.05). The incidence of stroke showed no difference between contrast-enhanced ultrasound of 2-3 scores and SMI of 2-3 scores (P>0.05). Contrast-enhanced ultrasound score and SMI score were positively correlated with the incidence of stroke within 1 year of follow-up (P<0.05). Conclusions SMI technology can judge the stability of plaque and assess the risk of stroke by scoring the neovascularization in plaque, which can prevent the incidence of stroke. Key words: Superb micro-vascular imaging; Semi-quantitative; Carotid plaque; Neovascularization; Stroke