RESUMO
To assess the clinical significance of carotid duplex scan in Thai patients, 53 healthy volunteers and 107 patients with either atherosclerotic heart/brain diseases, or associated with risk factors for atherosclerosis were examined by carotid duplex scan. The degrees of carotid stenosis were enumerated and classified as normal (0*), mild (< 40%), moderate (41 – 70%) and severe (> 70%) according to percentages of the thickest atheromatous plaque relative to the carotid diameter. There was 30 males and 23 females age ranged 33-63 years old in normal control group. The acute strike patients comprised of 37 males and 24 females with age range of 53-93 years. There were 23 patients of coronary thrombosis, 13 males and 10 females (age range 48-83 years). The asymptomatic patients with risk factors for atherosclerosis were 17 males and 10 females (between 43-63 years). There were 4 cases that had both coronary and cerebral thrombosis. The degree of carotid stenosis in the normal group was compared with the patients group. A P-value <0.05 was considered to be a significant difference. In normal volunteers, no atheromatous plaques were detected. There were significantly higher degrees of carotid stenosis in patients (p < 0.05) compared to normal subjects. Patients with cerebral thrombosis revealed the degree of 56% while in patients with the risk factors of ischemic heart-brain diseases the degree was 36% and the degree was 26% in angiographic proven coronary thrombosis. Carotid duplex scan is a new non-invasive ultrasonographic technique that can detect and monitor the progression of atherosclerosis.