Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine, Vol 17, Issue 2 97-102, Copyright © 1998 by American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine
Do ultrasonic contrast agents artificially increase maximum Doppler shift? In vivo study of human common carotid arteries
M. Gutberlet, S. Venz, W. Zendel, N. Hosten and R. Felix
Charite-Virchow-Klinikum, Medizinische Fakultat der Humboldt-Universitat Berlin, Germany.
The aim of this study was to establish whether an increase of maximum
Doppler shift occurs in the human common carotid artery after the
administration of Levovist, an ultrasonographic echo enhancer. Twenty
common carotid arteries of 10 patients were examined. Spectral Doppler
waveform examinations were performed before and after administration of
Levovist using an Acuson 128 XP 10 and a 7.0 MHz transducer probe. Time
averaged mean velocity, peak velocity, maximum Doppler shift, and spectral
Doppler indices (pulsatility index, resistive index, systolic-diastolic
ratio) were assessed. No significant changes in any of the measured
parameters, including maximum Doppler shifts, peak velocity (P = 0.35,
Wilcoxon rank sum test), pulsatility indices (P = 0.70), resistive indices
(P = 0.98), or other spectral indices, were found. We conclude that an
increase in Doppler shift does not inevitably occur after the
administration of a signal enhancer when examining the human common carotid
artery.
