Abstract
Our ability to diagnose and understand the mechanisms of the vertebrobasilar ischemia is less developed compared to the anterior circulation vessels. Fewer validation studies are available for diagnostic criteria of lesions in the posterior circulation, and generally the accuracy parameters for vertebral ultrasound are less specific than those of carotid examinations. An ultrasound examination of the extracranial portions of the vertebral artery constitutes an inexpensive and widely available screening method (being a mandatory part of a carotid duplex examination) to diagnose atherosclerotic disease and a variety of other findings and to further identify candidates for more expensive or invasive diagnostic evaluations. Furthermore, vertebral ultrasonography can help determine the pathogenic mechanism of an ischemic stroke in the emergency room and can lead to an early initiation of a mechanism-specific stroke treatment or prevention. Extracranial vertebral duplex examination should be performed in conjunction with transcranial Doppler examination in patients with stroke and transient ischemic attacks. The aim of this chapter is to describe the methods of vertebral ultrasonography, practical criteria for interpretation, and relevance of these findings to patient management.
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Kepplinger, J., Barlinn, K., Alexandrov, A.V. (2013). Vertebral Artery Ultrasonography. In: AbuRahma, A., Bandyk, D. (eds) Noninvasive Vascular Diagnosis. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-4005-4_9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-4005-4_9
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