A feasibility study of three-dimensional ultrasonography in assessing the carotid plaque vulnerability / 中华医学超声杂志（电子版）

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the feasibility and reliability of three-dimensional ultrasound in evaluating carotid artery vulnerable plaques with the method of prospective plaque scoring.Methods From February 2016 to March 2017,41 patients who performed carotid endarterectomy (CEA) in the department of neurosurgery at the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University were scheduled for conventional cervical vascular ultrasonography,three-dimensional ultrasonography (3D-US),CT angiography (CTA),CT perfusion imaging (CTP) and / or digital subtraction angiography (DSA) examinations before surgery.On pathology,the atherosclerotic plaque morphology and HE staining findings were evaluated after surgery.The results of preoperative 3D-US were compared with the corresponding postoperative pathologic findings.Each plaque was scored based on the plaque morphology,homogeneity,echo characteristics and degree of vascular stenosis in 3D-US.According to the pathological results,the plaques were divided into vulnerable plaque group (n=35) and stable plaque group (n=10).The plaque score difference between groups was compared using independent sample t test.Patients were classified into ischemic stroke group (n=27) and non-ischemic stroke group (n=14) according to whether ischemic stroke symptoms occurred during the last 6 months.Pearson x2 test was used to analyze the correlation between ischemic events and the vulnerable plaques.Results Plaque scores were significantly different between vulnerable plaque group and stable plaque group (5.3 ±0.2 vs 3.4±0.3,t=5.339,P ＜ 0.05).The accuracy of identifying vulnerable plaque by plaque score is high,while the area under the ROC curve is 0.907 with a cutoff 4.5 (the maximum Youden index is 0.671,the sensitivity is 77％,the specificity is 90％).There is a significant positive correlation between the occurrence of ischemic events and plaque vulnerability (r=0.858,P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion 3D-US can accurately and quantitatively assess vulnerability of carotid plaques,carotid artery vulnerable plaque was significantly associated with ischemic stroke,which can provide the basis for clinical individualized treatment.