Ultrasound Findings In Patients Research Articles

Intravascular ultrasound findings in patients with acute coronary syndromes with and without elevated troponin I level

T acute coronary syndromes population is heterogenous, and patients with an elevated troponin I on admission have worse outcomes than those without elevated troponin I. In addition, angiographic studies of patients with unstable angina pectoris show less severe culprit lesion stenosis, more frequent B2/C lesion complexity, and a higher prevalence of intracoronary thrombus in patients with troponin elevation. However, coronary angiography provides limited insights into plaque morphology and distribution. The aim of the present study was to use intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) to determine whether patients with acute coronary syndromes and elevated troponin I have different qualitative and quantitative coronary plaque characteristics than patients with acute coronary syndromes without elevated troponin I. • • • We compared the preintervention IVUS findings of 40 patients with acute coronary syndromes (progressive or worsening angina for 6 weeks, rest angina with or without objective evidence of ischemia such as electrocardiographic and/or hemodynamic changes, and recurrence of angina in 6 weeks after acute myocardial infarction), and elevated troponin I (troponin I 0.15 ng/ml on admission) with 46 patients with acute coronary syndromes and normal troponin I levels. Patients were matched for age, gender, the presence of risk factors for coronary artery disease (diabetes mellitus, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and smoking) and for lesion location (Table 1). Patients were excluded from analysis if on admission they had (1) a diagnosis of acute ST elevation myocardial infarction, (2) new pathologic Q waves in at 2 contiguous electrocardiographic leads, and (3) recent ( 3 weeks) acute myocardial infarction. All patients met the following IVUS criteria: (1) high quality IVUS imaging of a native coronary artery target lesion and distal and proximal references, (2) de novo lesion, (3) nonostial lesion location, and (4) single culprit lesion. All IVUS studies were performed before any predilation and after administration of 200 g of intracoronary nitrogycerin using a commercially available imaging system (Boston Scientific/SciMed Corporation, Boston Massachusetts) that incorporated a single-element 30or 40-MHz beveled transducer mounted on the tip of a flexible shaft and rotated at 1,800 rpm within a 3.2 Fr or 2.6 Fr short monorail imaging sheath. The IVUS catheter was advance 10 mm distal to the lesion and the transducer was automatically withdrawn retrograde to the aorto-ostial junction using motorized pullback at 0.5 mm/s. Studies were recorded on high-resolution 0.5-inch s-VHS tape for off-line analysis. Quantitative and qualitative analyses were performed by experienced clinicians blinded to the troponin I level according to the recently published American College of Cardiology Clinical Expert Consensus Document on Standards for Acquisition, Measurement and Reporting of IVUS. Reproducibility of the IVUS area and longitudinal measurements from our laboratory has been reported. Quantitative analysis included: (1) lesion and mean reference external elastic membrane (EEM) area, lumen area, and plaque & media (EEM minus lumen) area; (2) plaque burden (plaque & media divided by EEM area); (3) lumen area stenosis (average reference lumen minus lesion minimal lumen cross-sectional area) divided by (average reference lumen area) ; (4) lesion length; and (5) arcs and lengths of calcium. The lesion site was the IVUS image slice with the smallest lumen area. The reference sites were the most normal-looking cross sections within the same segment as the lesion, but before any major side branch. Qualitative assessment of the entire length of the lesion included: (1) plaque morphology (hypoechoic, hyperechoic, calcified, or mixed); (2) location of calcium; and (3) presence of thrombus, dissection, and/or plaque rupture. These latter findings were considered to represent high-risk morphologic configurations. Statistical analysis was performed using SigmaStat (2.03, SPSS Science, Chicago, Illinois) or StatView 5.0 (SAS Institute, Cary, North Carolina). Quantitative data, presented as mean SD, were compared using an unpaired, 2-tailed Student’s t test. Qualitative (categorical) data, presented as frequencies, were compared using chi-square statistics. A p value 0.05 was considered significant. Patient baseline characteristics are summarized in Table 1. Patients with elevated troponin I levels had (1) more prior myocardial infarctions, (2) a similar rate of elevated admission creatine kinase-MB fracFrom the Cardiovascular Research Institute and the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratories, Washington Hospital Center, Washington, DC; and the Cardiovascular Research Foundation, New York, New York. Dr. Fuch’s address is: Cardiovascular Research Institute, Washington Hospital Center, 110 Irving Street NW, 4B-1, Washington, DC 20010. E-mail: shmuel.fuchs@medstar.net. Manuscript received December 14, 2001; revised manuscript received and accepted January 24, 2002.

Classificação ultra-sonográfica do derrame pleural e do empiema parapneumônico

Os autores correlacionam as alterações anatomopatológicas da cavidade pleural com os achados ultra-sonográficos no derrame pleural e no empiema parapneumônico e apresentam uma classificação baseada nestes dados. Concluem que a ultra-sonografia é método diagnóstico fidedigno para inferir a fase anatomopatológica da doença pleural, bem como auxiliar na escolha da alternativa de tratamento.

Ultra-sonografia ocular em suspeita clínica de endoftalmite

Objetivo: Apresentar os achados ultra-sonográficos em olhos com suspeita clínica de endoftalmite. Métodos: Estudo prospectivo (agosto/97 a abril/99) de olhos com suspeita clínica de endoftalmite infecciosa. Utilizou-se ultra-sonografia ocular (sonda de 10 MHz, modos A e B) com técnica de contato direto (UltraScan®, Alcon). Resultados microbiológicos da punção da câmara anterior e/ou vítreo, quando presentes, foram anexados à ficha ultra-sonográfica, por ocasião do estudo dos casos. Resultados: Foram estudados 25 olhos (pacientes entre 2 e 79 anos). A fonte de infecção foi exógena em 23 e endógena em 2. Das exógenas, 12 pacientes tinham história de cirurgia prévia (7 pós-cirurgia de catarata com implante de LIO, 4 pós-cirurgia de glaucoma, 1 pós-transplante de córnea), 6 referiam história de trauma perfurante, 4 apresentavam úlcera de córnea e 1 fora submetido a sutura de córnea e extração do cristalino após trauma penetrante. Dos casos de etiologia metastática, 1 paciente era diabético e 1 era imunodeprimido. A presença de ecos membranáceos e/ou puntiformes foi a alteração ultra-sonográfica comum a todos os pacientes. Em 2 casos, os ecos tênues e simétricos em relação ao olho normal contralateral possibilitaram afastar a hipótese de comprometimento vítreo. O grau de acometimento do vítreo pareceu ser proporcional à densidade dos ecos membranáceos. A condensação dos ecos, a mobilidade em bloco e a presença de cavitações ou vacúolos denotaram severidade do quadro. Outras alterações ultra-sonográficas comuns foram: espessamento global da coróide (12 casos), descolamento de coróide (8 casos) e retina (5 casos), impregnação da membrana hialóide (4 casos) e comprometimento orbitário (1 caso). Não foi possível correlacionar os achados ultra-sonográficos aos agentes etiológicos. Conclusão: A ultra-sonografia, um método não-invasivo e de fácil acesso, demonstrou ter valor nos casos com suspeita clínica de endoftalmite, principalmente quanto ao grau de comprometimento do segmento posterior.

Metastatic intramammary lymph nodes: mammographic and ultrasonographic features

Objective: To evaluate the mammographic and ultrasonographic findings in patients with intramammary lymph node (IMLN) involvement in breast cancer. Materials and methods: The mammograms of 1655 histopathologically proven breast cancer cases diagnosed during the last 10 years were retrospectively reviewed. There were 16 cases in which metastasis to intramammary lymph nodes was suspected mammographically and proven histopathologically. The clinical and radiological features of these 16 cases were evaluated. Results: On mammograms, the involved lymph nodes were all well circumscribed, homogeneous, oval or round opacities in the upper outer quadrant of the breast. They were all larger than 1 cm in size. On US, they were seen as well circumscribed, homogeneously hypoechoic masses with mild acoustic enhancement. In one case, besides enlargement, development of malignant microcalcifications was seen inside the node in the follow up period. In another case with IMLN metastasis, the primary focus of the breast cancer could not be detected either mammographically or histopathologically. So the case was accepted as occult breast carcinoma. All of the primary tumors detected were invasive histopathologically and their sizes varied between 1–6 cm (mean, 3 cm). Conclusion: The involvement of the IMLN can be suspected with mammographic and ultrasonographic features. Metastatic disease from breast cancer to IMLN may be the first clinical and/or radiological sign of breast cancer.

Intravascular ultrasound findings in patients with abnormal coronary flow reserve after stenting.

A coronary flow reserve (CFR) of 2.0 has been advocated as the endpoint for coronary intervention therapy. Experience shows, however, that CFR does indeed exceed 2.0 in many cases poststenting, while remaining below 2.0 in others. In this study, we assessed the clinical characteristics and IVUS findings of patients whose CFR remained below 2.0 after stent implantation, specifically 16 patients with CFR below 2.0 (22 lesions, 64 +/- 9 years, 4 female), and 102 patients with CFR above 2.0 (112 lesions, mean age 66 +/- 11 years, 22 female). Patient population comprised patients selected for retrospective study, but participants were selected on the basis of matching patient and lesion characteristics. The IVUS findings showed that incidence of calcified lesions and post-PTCA dissection of hard plaque were higher among patients with CFR < 2.0. Further, IVUS-obtained vascular measurements showed post-PTCA area stenosis to be 58.7 +/- 15.2% in the CFR < 2.0 group, and 45.3 +/- 12.5% among CFR > or = 2.0 patients (P < 0.05). These findings indicate that patients with diffuse calcified lesions or high post-PTCA % area stenosis, as determined by IVUS, are more likely to have lower CFR after stenting.

Intravascular ultrasound findings in patients with low fractional flow reserve after stenting Hiroshi Ishimori, Toshiya Muramatsu, Reiko Tsukahara, Mami Ho, Yoshiaki Ito, Naozumi Saiki. Kawasaki Social Insurance Hospital, Kawasaki, Japan

Intravascular ultrasound findings in patients with low fractional flow reserve after stenting Hiroshi Ishimori, Toshiya Muramatsu, Reiko Tsukahara, Mami Ho, Yoshiaki Ito, Naozumi Saiki. Kawasaki Social Insurance Hospital, Kawasaki, Japan

Lymphadenomegaly in patients with chronic liver disease

Abdominal lymphadenomegaly is a frequent ultrasonographic finding in patients with chronic liver disease. Its clinical significance is not well understood. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between this finding and several characteristics of liver disease in 44 patients with chronic liver disease (79.5% due to hepatitis C virus). To do this, all patients underwent simultaneous liver biopsy and abdominal ultrasonography, in which the number and localization of the enlarged abdominal lymph nodes were confirmed. Viral load in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection was determined. No significant differences were found in serum hepatitis C RNA concentrations between patients who presented lymphadenomegaly and those who did not. However, the presence of lymphadenomegaly was associated with greater histological activity. If this finding were confirmed in studies with larger samples, the presence of ultrasonographically-detected enlarged abdominal lymph nodes in patients with chronic liver disease due to hepatitis C virus infection would indicate more severe histological lesions.

Late Thrombosis After Radiation

Five years after Condado et al1 first treated human coronary arteries with brachytherapy, there is ongoing clinical investigation into its safety and efficacy in preventing restenosis. As with any novel technique, unexpected complications may dampen early high expectations and result in pessimism and skepticism. However, time, experience, and complete data analysis will determine the reality. Costa and coworkers2 may be reacting prematurely by reporting a new phenomenon in interventional cardiology entitled “late, sudden thrombosis after PTCA plus radiotherapy.” They report 6 (6.6%) of 91 patients who presented with late total occlusion/thrombosis at angiographic follow-up; these patients were enrolled into different radiation protocols using different β-emitters at different prescribed doses. Late total occlusion or late thrombosis is a valid concern, especially when associated with acute myocardial infarction (MI). However, can we really draw any conclusion from 6 heterogeneous case reports taken from a small cohort of patients in the absence of a control group? Is this announcement based on too few data, and is it premature? An editorial based on a Brief Rapid Communication mandates the editorialist to gather additional information, disclose his own insights, and provide the readers (the jury in this case) with as much information as possible. Acute thrombosis occurs during or early after intervention, and subacute thrombosis occurs within the subsequent 30 days. Both usually present with unstable symptoms and angiographic evidence of thrombus. However, the definition of late thrombosis may be problematic. It may not present with symptoms. It may be detected only when follow-up angiography shows a late total occlusion, which could also be the result of progressive intimal hyperplasia. Late total occlusion/thrombosis should be defined as any angiographically documented total occlusion >30 days after the procedure. For patients who have a patent treatment site at 6 months and subsequently develop a total …

Appearance of the uterus by ultrasound immediately after placental delivery with pathologic correlation.

The purpose of this study was to compare the ultrasound appearance of the uterus immediately after the placenta was delivered with the gross and histologic findings obtained by manual exploration and sponge curettage. One hundred thirty-one patients underwent a sonographic assessment of the uterus within 5 minutes of placental delivery. A manual exploration and sponge curettage were performed with 2 minutes of the ultrasound examination, and the specimens were assessed for gross and histologic evidence of retained products of conception. Twenty-four (18.8%) of the patients had documented evidence of retained products of conception either by gross inspection or histologic assessment. Nineteen (15%) of the patients had what appeared to be retained products on ultrasound examination. Using our sonographic description of retained products of conception, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of ultrasound in detecting retained products was 44%, 92%, 58%, and 87%, respectively. The ultrasound findings in patients with retained products of conception were: a normal endometrial cavity in 9 (37.5%), echogenic mass in 6 (25%), heterogenous mixed density mass in 5 (21%), and fluid only in 4 (16.6%). Of the 6 cases with an echogenic mass, all were associated with retained products of conception. The ultrasound appearance of retained products of conception in the immediate time period after placental delivery is highly variable.

Ophthalmic, ultrasonographic findings in primary central nervous system lymphoma with ocular involvement.

To describe and classify ophthalmic, ultrasonographic findings in patients with primary central nervous system lymphoma with ocular involvement. B- and A-scan ultrasonography was performed on the eyes of 13 patients with primary central nervous system lymphoma with ocular involvement. In seven patients, the eyes were the site of initial involvement. In the other six patients, both ocular and central nervous system disease were present at the initial evaluation. All patients had abnormal ultrasonographic findings. The most common were vitreous debris (n = 10), choroidal-scleral thickening (n = 6), and widening of the optic nerve (n = 4). Elevated chorioretinal lesions (n = 3) and retinal detachment (n = 2) were also found. Ophthalmic ultrasonography is a useful adjunctive diagnostic technique for characterizing ocular involvement in lymphoma. Ocular lymphoma may present as chorioretinitis, vitreitis and nonspecific uveitis; it produces characteristic, but nonspecific findings on ultrasonography. The diagnosis of ocular involvement is an important factor in determining treatment.

Correlation between karyotype and ultrasound findings in patients with failed early pregnancy.

The aim of this retrospetive study was to identify any consistent patterns between ultrasound findings in failed pregnancies and either normal or abnormal karyotypes. The study involved 102 women in whom the diagnosis of early pregnancy failure was made sonographically. The criteria for a failed pregnancy were: a gestational sac with a mean diameter of > 12 mm without a yolk sac; a yolk sac of > 6 mm mean diameter with or without abnormal morphology that ultimately failed to develop an embryonic structure; and an embryo with a crown--rump length (CRL) of > 5 mm without cardiac activity, or the loss of previously identified cardiac activity. All patients underwent elective dilatation and curettage (D & C) and products of conception were sent for karyotyping. Forty-four pregnancies (43%) had abnormal karyotypes. Of these, 33 (75%) were trisomies. The other 11 included four triploidies, one tetraploidy, two with monosomy X, and four others (unbalanced complement, isochromosome, terminal deletion and translocation). Fifty-eight pregnancies (57%) had normal karyotypes, of which 52 were 46,XX and six were 46,XY. The furthest sonographic anatomic landmark achieved did not differ with respect to karyotypic findings. An abnormal yolk sac was found in 10/58 cases (17.2%) with normal karyotypes and 8/44 cases (18.2%) with abnormal karyotypes. There were eight cases of trisomy 16, of which only two manifested an embryonic structure, but neither of which had cardiac activity; the largest was 4 mm. There were four cases of trisomy 22, of which three developed embryos with a CRL of > 10 mm with cardiac activity (11, 11 and 18 mm, respectively). In three cases of mosaicism, embryos developed cardiac activity, and were 9, 19 and 16 mm. Two cases of monosomy X had embryos of 14 and 24 mm. Only one out of five cases with multiple trisomies developed to a point at which any embryonic structure was identifiable on ultrasound examination. The ultrasound appearance of early pregnancy failure in terms of furthest anatomic landmark reached was not significantly different in cases with normal or abnormal karyotype. An abnormally enlarged yolk sac, presumably secondary to hydropic change, is a non-specific finding of failed pregnancy, and did not correlate with karyotypic abnormality (trisomy 22, mosaic, monosomy X) seem to develop further prior to embryonic demise than those with certain others (trisomy 16, multiple trisomies and unusual other variants.

Validity of B-Mode Ultrasonographic Findings in Patients Undergoing Carotid Endarterectomy in Comparison With Angiographic and Clinicopathologic Features

Determining factors for performing carotid endarterectomy (CEA) are the severity of carotid stenosis and the presence of plaque ulcerations. Precise detection of these factors is important. The aim of this study was to assess the applicability of using B-mode ultrasonography for diagnosing carotid lesions in patients undergoing CEA. B-mode examinations were performed on 64 Japanese patients (68 arteries) who subsequently underwent CEA. In each case, the appearance of plaque on B-mode was classified into one of two types: heterogeneous or homogeneous; plaque echogenicity was expressed as hypoechoic, isoechoic, or hyperechoic. Surface characteristics such as ulceration also were examined, and the degree of carotid artery stenosis was calculated. The B-mode findings were compared with angiographic and pathological features. B-mode accurately visualized macroscopic ulceration and surface irregularity in 93.8% of the lesions examined, which was superior to angiography. Fifty-four lesions (79.4%) were of the heterogeneous type and 14 lesions (20.6%) were of the homogeneous type on B-mode. Microscopically, 57.4% of the heterogeneous-type lesions demonstrated fibrous change. The frequency of calcification was higher in the heterogeneous lesions than in the homogeneous lesions. B-mode ultrasonography findings can provide information about macroscopic and microscopic characteristics of carotid lesions.

Doppler sonography in the evaluation of corporovenous competence after penile vein ligation surgery.

Doppler ultrasonographic findings in patients after penile vein ligation surgery are described and compared to the results of cavernosometry and cavernosography. Peak systolic and end diastolic velocities were recorded for both cavernosal arteries at 5 min intervals after papaverine injection for a total of 30 min. Peak end diastolic flow rates were compared with cavernosometric and cavernosographic results at 0-10 min, 11-20 min, and 21-30 min. Cavernosography identified venous leakage in nine patients. The end diastolic velocities were greater than the 5 cm/s threshold level generally considered to be indicative of venous leakage in nine of the nine patients (100%) at 0-10 min, in eight of the nine (89%) at 11-20 min, and in nine of the nine (100%) at 21-30 min. Although peak end diastolic velocities at or near the 5 cm/s threshold could be found in patients both with and without recurrent venous leakage in the initial 10 min of the studies, only patients with recurrent venous leakage had diastolic velocities that exceeded the 5 cm/s level when measured 10 min or more after injection. Measurement of end diastolic velocities between 21 and 30 min after injection seemed to discriminate most effectively the patients with recurrent venous leakage from those without leakage in the postoperative population.

Opisthorchis viverrini infection in Thailand: symptoms and signs of infection—a population-based study

A population-based study of the clinical, laboratory and ultrasonographic findings in patients suffering from mild or moderate opisthorchiasis in Prachinburi province, Thailand was conducted in 1990–1992. The effectiveness of treatment with praziquantel at 40 mg/kg body weight was evaluated. After treatment, a longlasting, marked improvement in the well-being of the study group was observed. Symptoms common in opisthorchiasis infection decreased in intensity and the clinical response showed total or partial remission in 98% of all cases studied. Total and direct bilirubin concentrations decreased significantly and remained low up to the end of the follow-up period of 2 years, indicating a reduction in cholestasis. Also, white blood cell counts decreased initially, which can be interpreted as a reduction in inflammation intensity. No relationship was found between intensity of infection and age or clinical findings, Population-based treatment of opisthorchiasis appears to have had a significant impact on public health in north-east Thailand. However, it is also evident that drug therapy alone will not solve the opisthorchiasis problem, as indicated by the reinfection rate of almost 10% at the end of the study.

Unusual ultrasonographic appearance of the uterus in patients receiving tamoxifen

Tamoxifen is widely used as adjunctive therapy for patients with breast cancer and has been suggested as protection against the development of breast cancer in women at risk on the basis of heredity. It is a nonsteroidal estrogen antagonist, but like all antagonists it has some agonistic properties. Its administration should result in atrophic changes in the endometrium, but paradoxically some reports have found hyperplasia and even carcinomas developing prospectively in patients on tamoxifen therapy. Increasingly, endovaginal ultrasonography is being used for endometrial assessment in a wide variety of patients. This report is the first description of an unusual ultrasonographic finding in the uteri of some patients receiving tamoxifen. Initially believed to be endometrial in location, when viewed after fluid instillation (sonohysterogram) the heterogenous bizarre ultrasonographic appearance was actually found to represent small subendometrial sonolucencies in the proximal myometrium. Because none of these patients were clinically bleeding and all had inactive endometria on biopsy, it seems prudent not to overinterpret ultrasonography findings in patients receiving tamoxifen who have not had fluid-enhanced assessment. (AM J OBSTET GYNECOL 1994;170:447-51.)

Ultrasonographic findings of patients on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD).

Between 1989 and 1991, ultrasonograms (US) and CT films of 13 patients undergoing continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) were obtained to evaluate splenomegaly, other abdominal splanchnic systems, distribution of CAPD fluid in the abdominal cavity and the condition of the bowel and mesentery.In this group, there were no cases with splenomegaly, while in hemodialyzed patients, splenomegaly is often demonstrated, as has previously been reported by us. Furthermore there was no statistical correlation between splenic index (SI) and duration of CAPD or platelet count in CAPD patients, though these have been recognized in hemodialyzed patients. There is a definite difference between CAPD and hemodialysis with respect to how the machines are used, so it may be concluded that splenomegaly is caused by hypersplenism resulting from blood cell injury due to mechanical stimulation with, for example, the dialyzer.Other organs in the abdominal cavity showed no differences between CAPD patients and hemodialyzed patients.Distribution of CAPD fluid in the abdominal cavity was different in each case, and in addition, the contact surface between it and the bowel or mesentery was localized. Furthermore, measurement of mesentery thickness tended to be affected by peristalsis, and differed according to various sites in the same patient. Therefore, mesentery thickness measured by US as an index of CAPD efficiency must be evaluated cautiously.

Local staging of prostate cancer with transrectal ultrasound: a literature review.

A literature review was undertaken to investigate whether transrectal ultrasound can predict the local stage of prostate cancer. Twelve papers were found which correlated ultrasound findings with surgical findings and another paper reported on strategic staging biopsies guided by transrectal ultrasound. Eleven of these papers reported on ultrasound findings in patients in whom digital rectal examination had defined localized disease. One paper compared ultrasound findings and digital rectal findings. One paper indicated that transrectal ultrasound, though not suited to patients with clinically localized disease defined by digital rectal examination, may be superior as the initial staging tool. We conclude that transrectal ultrasound has too low a specificity to upgrade the diagnostic results of digital rectal examination, but that it may be more useful as the primary staging tool and for guidance in strategic staging biopsies.

Ultrasonographic findings in diseases of the appendix.

Ultrasonographic findings in patients with diseases of the appendix, including acute appendicitis, suspected appendiceal abscess, and palpable right-lower-quadrant abdominal mass, are described. An appendiceal abscess may manifest as a cystic mass, a mixed solid and cystic mass, or a hypoechoic solid mass. An appendiceal calculus within an abscess can be recognized as a hyperechoic structure with acoustic shadowing. On ultrasonography, acute appendicitis in female patients may mimic tubo-ovarian disease. Ultrasonographic features of isolated Crohn's disease of the appendix and mucocele of the appendix are also described.

Problems in the application of ultrasonography for the evaluation of pleural opacities.

Fifty-nine patients with pleural abnormalities on chest radiographs were evaluated by B-mode ultrasonography; the lesions were categorized as echo-free or complex. Echo-free lesions included pleural fluid collections, and abnormalities which did not yield "fluid" through an appropriately positioned large caliber needle. "Complex appearing" lesions yielded fluid through a needle in all cases. Ultrasonography could not accurately predict which lesions were amenable to successful thoracocentesis. Findings from recent radiographs and clinical history must be known when the ultrasonographic findings in patients with chest abnormalities are interpreted.

Carotid Duplex Ultrasound Findings in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease (CAD)-A Study in 50 Cases

Fifty patients with coronary artery disease admitted to the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD), Dhaka were screened for presence of carotid atherosclerosis by duplex ultrasound study during the period of July ’98 to Aug ’99. Out of 50 patients 34 patients (68%) had carotid lesions and normal carotids found in 16 patients (32%). Age range of patients with and without carotid lesions were 56 ± 5.39 yrs and 47± 7.91 yrs respectively. Out of 34 patients, 30 were male (88.24%) and 4 were female (11.76%). Twenty nine patients (85.29%) were smokers, 22 patients (64.7%) were hypertensive and 9 patients (26.47%) were diabetic. Dyslipidaemia was found in 16 patients (47.06%) and a history of transient ischaemic attack (TIA) was found in 10 patients (29.41%). A coexistent CAD on coronary angiography (CAG) was found in 31 patients (91.17%).&#x0D; &#x0D; (University Heart Journal 2007; 3 : 63-64)