CHICAGO - Duplex power Doppler ultrasound offers radiologists an efficient way to single out sickle cell anemia patients with the greatest risk of stroke.
Transcranial Doppler can also pick up abnormalities in the arteries of the brain that traditional magnetic resonance angiography may miss, said Dr. Abe Malouf Jr., assistant professor of radiology at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson.
Ultrasound is also more widely available and less expensive for ascertaining the stroke risk of sickle cell patients, he noted.
"We're trying to identify the 10% (of patients with sickle cell disease) who are abnormal and require blood transfusion," Malouf said at an RSNA press conference Tuesday. "We don't want to do transfusion for the 90% who don't need it."
Using transcranial doppler, the Mississippi group evaluated 20 children with an average age of nine. Ten patients were found to be abnormal, with a blood flow velocity rate of more than 199 centimeters per second. In comparison, MRA detected abnormalities in only eight patients.
Among the group of 10 patients, eight were treated with transfusion therapy and did not suffer a stroke. One had a stroke in the weeks leading up to transfusion, while the other suffered a non-clinical stroke, he said.
By Shalmali PalAuntMinnie.com staff writer
December 1, 1999
