Abstract
Background and Purpose: Cerebral infarction in sickle cell disease is associated with arterial narrowing or occlusions of intracranial arteries. Primary stroke prevention would be feasible if a noninvasive screening test could be developed to detect intracranial disease in patients before symptoms develop. Methods: To determine the sensitivity and specificity of transcranial Doppler in detecting significant (≥50% lumen diameter reduction) intracranial arterial lesions, we compared transcranial Doppler and cerebral angiography in a primarily young, symptomatic group of 33 patients (18 males and 15 females) with sickle cell disease. Results: From a total of 34 examinations, transcranial Doppler detected significant abnormalities in 26 of 29 (sensitivity 90%, specificity 100%). Five were normal by both techniques. The transorbital examination detected abnormalities in two patients whose studies were otherwise unremarkable. Conclusions: Transcranial Doppler is sensitive and specific for the detection of arterial vasculopathy of sickle cell disease. Screening should include a transorbital examination of the distal internal carotid artery as well as examination using the transtemporal approach.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 1073-1077 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Stroke |
Volume | 23 |
Issue number | 8 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Aug 1992 |
Keywords
- Anemia
- Cerebral infarction
- Child
- Sickle cell
- Ultrasonics
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Clinical Neurology
- Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine
- Advanced and Specialized Nursing