Relationship between retinal vascular occlusion and carotid artery atherosclerotic plaque by color Doppler ultrasonography

Abstract

Objective To explore the relationship between retinal vascular occlusion and carotid artery atherosclerotic (CAA) plaque by color Doppler ultrasonography.Methods Carotid artery color Doppler ultrasonography was performed in 65 patients with retinal vascular occlusion (case group) and 50normal controls (control group).To acknowledge the role of the CAA plaque in the ocurrence of retinal vascular occlusion by the detection rate of CAA plaque and stenosis degree of carotid arteries.Results The detection rate of CAA plaque was 64.62％(42/65) in case group,which was higher than that in control group [22.00％(11/50)],and there was significant difference (P＜0.05).Mild stenosis had 34 cases,moderate stenosis had 6 cases,severe stenosis had 2 cases in case group,and 8,3,0 case respectively in control group.There was significant difference in stenosis degree of carotid arteries between two groups (P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions CAA plaque is closely related to the ocurrence of retinal vascular occlusion.Color Doppler ultrasonography is the simplest and most effective method to monitor CAA plaque which has clinical significance in prevention and treatment of retinal vascular occlusion. Key words: Ultrasonography, Doppler, color; Atherosclerosis; Retinal vascular occlusion