There was no enough evidence to support the view that endovascular treatment could alternate the endarterectomy to be a standard treatment of carotid stenosis. A recent Cochrane systematic review found no difference in major outcomes between endovascular treatment and surgery. The randomised trials provided data to show that the main advantage of endovascular treatment for carotid artery stenosis was the avoidance of minor complications such as cranial nerve palsy and wound haematoma of surgery. Longer term follow also showed no difference in the rate of stroke during follow-up, but the confidence intervals were very wide allowing the possibility of a substantial difference in risk and benefits of the two treatments. There was no difference in avoidance of stroke between carotid stenting using protection devices and surgery, and the protection devices could cause additional complications.
ObjectiveTo analysis the risk factors for carotid stenosis in patients with ischemic cerebrovascular disease based on digital subtraction angiography.
MethodsA total of 312 patients diagnosed with ischemic cerebrovascular disease who underwent digital subtraction angiography from June 2011 to September 2013 were selected.The risk factors of carotid stenosis were analysised by multivariate logistic regression analysis.
ResultsIn 312 patients,271 were with cerebral infarction and 41 were transient ischemic attack patients.There were 149 patients in carotid stenosis group (stenosis degree ≥50%) and 163 patients in control group (stenosis degree<50%).The age (OR=1.037,P=0.000) and coronary heart disease (OR=4.121,P=0.001) were independent risk factors of carotid stenosis with ischemic cerebrovascular disease.
ConclusionCarotid stenosis is common in ischemic cerebrovascular disease.Age and coronary heart disease were the independent risk factors.The recognition and control of these risk factors are in favor of secondary prevention of ischemic cerebrovascular disease.
ObjectiveTo observe the effect of interventional thrombolytic therapy for central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO) with ipsilateral internal carotid artery occlusion via supratrochlear artery retrogradely or external carotid artery anterogradely.MethodsNine CRAO patients (9 eyes) were enrolled in this study, including 5 males and 4 females. The mean age was (45.2±18.1) years. The mean onset duration was 24 hours. There were 4 eyes with vision of no light perception, 3 eyes with light perception and 2 eyes with hand movement. Fundus fluorescein angiography (FFA) examination showed that the retinal artery was filled with delayed fluorescence. The peak of fluorescence was seen in the anterior part of the artery, and some of the eyes showed retrograde filling. The arm-retinal circulation time (A-Rct) was ≥35 s in 4 eyes, ≥35 s - ＜25 s in 5 eyes. The filling time of retinal artery and its branches (FT) was ≥15 s in 2 eyes, ≥12 s - ＜15 s in 3 eyes, ≥9 s - ＜12 s in 4 eyes. All the patients received the treatment of interventional thrombolytic therapy via supratrochlear artery retrogradely (8 eyes) or external carotid artery anterogradely (1 eye) according to the indications and contraindications of thrombolytic therapy in acute cerebral infraction patients. Urokinase (0.4 million U in total) was intermittently injected into the arteries. After artery thrombolysis, the changes of digital subtraction angiography (DSA), filling time of retinal artery and its branches on FFA within 24 hours and the visual acuity were observed. According to the A-Rct and FT on FFA, the therapeutic effects on retinal circulation were defined as effective markedly (A-Rct≤15 s, FT≤2 s) , effective (A-Rct was improved but in the range of 16 - 20 s, FT was in 3 - 8 s) and no effect (A-Rct was improved but ≥21 s, FT≥9 s). The related local or systemic complications were recorded.ResultsAfter the injection of urokinase into the catheter, the ophthalmic artery and its branches were increased in 6 eyes (66.7%), and the development of the eye ring was significantly more than that of the eyes before thrombolysis. The circulation time in ophthalmic artery was speeded up for 2 s before thrombolysis in 3 eyes, 3 s in 3 eyes, and 4 s in 2 eyes. Within 24 hours after thrombolysis treatment, the A-Rct was significantly decreased than that of before interventional therapy. The retinal circulation was effective markedly in 4 eyes (44.4%), effective in 4 eyes (44.4%) and no effect in 1 eyes (11.2%) . The vision was improved 3 lines in 4 eyes (44.4%), 2 lines in 3 eyes (33.3%), 1 line in 1 eye (11.2%) and no change in 1 eye (11.2%). There were no abnormal eye movements, vitreous hemorrhage and incision hematoma, intracranial hemorrhage, cerebral embolism, and other local and systemic adverse effectives during the follow-up.ConclusionsThe interventional thrombolytic therapy via supratrochlear artery retrogradely or external carotid artery anterogradely for CRAO with the ipsilateral internal carotid artery occlusion can improve retinal circulation and vision. There are no related local or systemic complications.
ObjectiveTo summarize our experience in treating highrisk carotid stenosis. MethodsWe retrospectively analyzed the clinical characteristics, treatment, and outcomes of 24 patients with highrisk carotid stenosis in our department from January 2001 with emphasis on the application of carotid stents and shunting tubes. ResultsAll patients were successfully treated, with 11 patients undergoing carotid angioplasty and stenting (CAS) and 13 patients receiving carotid endarterectomy (CEA) and shunting. No death, stroke, and ischemic neurological deficit occurred in 30 days postoperatively. ConclusionSelective application of CAS and shunting in CEA can effectively reduce complications and improve therapeutic effects in patients with highrisk carotid stenosis.
ObjectiveTo evaluate the efficacy of staged carotid artery stenting and coronary artery bypass grafting in the treatment of coronary heart disease complicated with carotid stenosis. MethodsThe clinical data of patients with coronary heart disease and carotid stenosis treated in Fuwai Hospital from November 2019 to September 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. All patients underwent staged carotid artery stenting and coronary artery bypass grafting. The incidence and risk factors of severe complications such as myocardial infarction, cerebral infarction and death during the perioperative period and follow-up were analyzed. ResultsA total of 58 patients were enrolled, including 47 males and 11 females with an average age of 52-77 (64.2±5.6) years. No complications occurred before coronary artery bypass grafting. There was 1 myocardial infarction, 1 cerebral infarction and 1 death after the coronary artery bypass grafting. The early complication rate was 5.2%. During the follow-up of 18.3 months, 1 cerebral infarction and 2 deaths occurred, and the overall complication rate was 10.3%. According to Kaplan-Meier survival curve analysis, patients with symptomatic carotid stenosis (log-rank, P=0.037) and placement of close-cell (log-rank, P=0.030) had a higher risk of postoperative ischemic cerebrovascular event, and patients with previous cerebral infarction had a higher risk of postoperative severe complications (log-rank, P=0.044). ConclusionStaged carotid artery stenting and coronary artery bypass grafting is safe and feasible for the treatment of coronary heart disease complicated with carotid stenosis.
Objective To summarize cl inical experience of carotid endarterectomy (CEA) in treating severe carotid stenosis. Methods Between October 1998 and January 2010, 215 patients with carotid stenosis were treated with CEA. There were 140 males and 75 females with an average age of 66 years (range, 51-88 years). Transient ischemic attack (TIA) occurred in127 cases, and 31 cases had history of cerebral infarction. All cases were diagnosed definitely by selective angiography and/or CT angiography, and stenosis degree was more than 80%; contralateral carotid artery was also involved in 45 cases. Ninty-six cases were found to have coronary artery stenosis by coronary angiography. CEA and coronary artery bypass grafting were performed simultaneously in 25 cases. Peripheral arterial disease was found in 43 cases and treated at the same time. Results A total of 155 patients were followed up 6-72 months. The cl inical symptom significantly alleviated in 148 cases postoperatively. Two cases had compl ication of cerebral hemorrhage within 1 week postoperatively; one died and the other was resumed after the conservative treatment. One case had hypoglossal nerve injury. Four cases had injuring marginal mandibular branch of the facial nerve, and no special treatment was given. Restenosis was found in 25 patients, and the stenosis degree was less than 25%; moreover, the patients had no TIA. One case died of heart attack at 3 years of follow-up period. Conclusion CEA is an effective and safe method for treating severe carotid stenosis.
Objective To observe the ocular hemodynamic changes and flow direction of ophthalmic artery of patients with severe internal carotid stenosis (ICAS) and investigate the relationship between flow direction of ophthalmic artery and degree of stenosis. Methods Forty eyes of 40 patients with unilateral highgrade ICAS (29 eyes, 72.5%) and internal carotid artery occlusion (11 eyes, 27.5%) diagnosed by color Doppler flow imaging (CDFI) were enrolled in this study. There were 14 eyes (35.0%) with obvious ocular signs of ischemia, 26 eyes (65.0%) without obvious signs of ocular ischemia. The peak systolic velocity (PSV) of central retinal artery (CRA) was measured. The flow direction of the ophthalmic artery was observed by digital subtraction angiography (DSA). The PSV of CRA in eyes with different flow directions in the ophthalmic artery was comparatively analyzed. The relationship between flow direction of the ophthalmic artery and degree of stenosis was also analyzed. Results The PSV of CRA in ICAS eyes was (6.59plusmn;1.49) cm/s, which was decreased compared to fellow eye (8.95plusmn;1.35) cm/s, the difference was statistically significant (t=-7.24,P＜0.01). The PSV of CRA in eyes with signs of obvious ocular ischemia was (5.84plusmn;1.42) cm/s, which was decreased compared to eyes without signs of obvious ocular ischemia (7.00plusmn;1.39) cm/s, the difference was statistically significant (t=-2.49,P＜0.05). There were 15 eyes (37.5%) with retrograde flow in the ophthalmic artery, 25 eyes (62.5%) with forward flow of ophthalmic artery. The PSV of CRA in eyes with retrograde flow and forward flow of ophthalmic artery were (6.96plusmn;2.09), (7.01plusmn;1.42) cm/s, the difference was not statistically significant (t=-0.09，P＞0.05). Among 15 eyes with retrograde flow of ophthalmic artery, there were five eyes (33.3%) with unilateral high-grade ICAS, 10 eyes (66.7%) with internal carotid artery occlusion. The incidence rate of retrograde flow in the ophthalmic artery in eyes with internal carotid artery occlusion was higher than that in eyes with unilateral high-grade ICAS (P＜0.01). Conclusions The PSV of CRA in eyes with severe ICAS decreased compared to fellow eyes. The PSV of CRA in eyes with signs of obvious ocular ischemia also decreased compared to eyes without obvious signs of ocular ischemia. With the increase of the degree of the internal carotid artery stenosis, the incidence of retrograde flow of ophthalmic artery increased.
Objective
To observe the choroidal blood flow and morphological changes in patients with severe stenosis of internal carotid artery stenosis (ICAS).
Methods
A retrospective case-control study. Forty-six patients (46 eyes) with ICAS were enrolled in this study. There was severe stenosis in one side (the eyes in this side were set as case group) and mild or no stenosis in other side (the eyes in this side were set as control group). Color doppler ultrasound (CDI) was used to observe the changes of hemodynamic parameters of the ophthalmic artery (OA) and posterior ciliary artery (PCA), the main parameters of ultrasound Doppler imaging are peak systolic velocity (PSV), end diastolic velocity (EDV), resistance indices (RI) and the calculation of the pulsation indices (PI) through the use of a formula. Enhanced binarization of deep imaging coherence tomography (EDI-OCT) was used to measure the subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFCT). The total subfoveal choroidal area (TCA), luminal (LA), stromal (SA) and choroidal vascularity index (CVI) were obtained by modified image binarization technique.
Results
In the case group, the PSV in the OA and PCA was significantly lower than that of the control group (t=?2.200, ?2.612; P=0.030, 0.011). There were no significant differences in EDV, RI, PI of OA (t=0.337, ?1.810, ?1.848; P=0.737, 0.074, 0.068) and PCA (t=?1.160, 1.400, 0.815; P=0.249, 0.165, 0.417). The SFCT (t=?3.711, P＜0.001), TCA (t=?2.736, P=0.007), LA (t=?3.188, P=0.002) and CVI (t=?2.096, P=0.039) of the case group was significantly lower than that of the control group. There were no significant differences in SA (t=?1.262, P=0.210) and LA/SA (t=?1.696, P=0.093).
Conclusion
In severe stenosis ICAS eyes, the PSV in the PCA and SFCT, TCA, LA, CVI are decreased.
ObjectiveTo investigate the relationship between retinal vessel diameters and cerebral infarction of carotid artery stenosis patients.
MethodsEighty-seven patients (174 eyes) with carotid stenosis were included in this study. There were 49 males and 38 females, with an average age of (65.25±7.85) years. Thirty-four patients were suffered from cerebral infarction (cerebral infarction group), and the other 53 patients had no cerebral infarction (control group). There was no significant difference in age (t=1.916), male rate (χ2=0.142) and carotid stenosis extent (χ2=0.785) between the two groups (P=0.059, 0.706, 0.675). All patients underwent color fundus photography after mydriasis. Retinal vascular caliber measurements were performed using IVAN software. The main parameters were central retinal artery diameter (central retinal artery equivalent, CRAE), the diameter of the central retinal vein (central retinal vein equivalent, CRVE) and the retinal arteriole to venular ratio (AVR). The relationship between retinal vessel diameter and cerebral vascular disease were analyzed with logistic regression analysis.
ResultsIn cerebral infarction group, CRVE, CRAE and AVR ratios were (132.90±20.67) μm, (243.47±43.92) μm and 0.56±0.10, while the control group was (145.26±21.59) μm, (224.99±32.35) μm and 0.68±0.13 respectively. There were significant differences between the two groups (t=-2.648, 2.257, -4.631; P < 0.05). After correction for risk factors, such as age, smoking history, CRAE reduction and CRVE increases were significantly correlated with cerebral infarction.
ConclusionCRAE reduction and CRVE increases are risk factors of cerebral infarction in patients with carotid stenosis, and it is useful in the prediction.
ObjectiveTo investigate the clinical characteristics of vascular neuro-ophthalmology in patients with central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO). MethodsA single-center, prospective clinical study. From January 2018 to December 2020, 49 eyes of 49 CRAO patients of The Neuro-ophthalmology Department of Xi'an First Hospital were included in the study. Data on patient demographic characteristics, vascular risk factors, disease characteristics, digital subtraction angiography (DSA) imaging characteristics of internal carotid arteries, treatment, treatment-related adverse events, and 1-month follow-up vascular events were collected. All patiens were examined by visual acuity, head CT and or magnetic resonance imaging. At the same time, 35 cases of internal carotid artery vascular DSA were examined; 14 cases of head and neck CT angiography were examined. The anatomical variation of the extracranial segment of the internal carotid artery was divided into tortuous, tortuous, and coiled; the aortic arch was divided into type Ⅰ, type Ⅱ, type Ⅲ, and bovine type. Intravenous thrombolysis, arterial thrombolysis, conservative treatment were performed. The follow-up time was 1 month after treatment. Functional vision was defined as vision ≥20/100. Vascular events were strokes, cardiovascular events, deaths and neovascular glaucoma during follow-up. ResultsAmong 49 eyes of 49 cases, 40 eyes were male (81.6%, 40/49), and 9 eyes were female (18.4%, 9/49); the average age was 60.7±12.9 years. There were 33, 17, and 16 cases with hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and cerebrovascular disease, respectively; 27 and 34 cases had a history of smoking and tooth loss, respectively. Taking antihypertensive, hypoglycemic, antiplatelet aggregation/anticoagulation, and hypolipidemic drugs were 15, 5, 8, and 5 patients, respectively. There were 11 cases of transient amaurosis before the onset, and 17 cases of CRAO after waking up. There were 33 cases (67.3%, 33/49) with infarction of the affected side of the brain tissue. DSA was performed in 35 cases, and the stenosis rate of the internal carotid artery on the affected side was 70%-99% and 100% were 3 (8.6%, 3/35) and 4 (11.4%, 4/35) cases, respectively. The ophthalmic artery on the affected side originated from the external carotid artery in 5 cases (14.3%, 5/35). There were 17 (54.8%, 17/31) and 2 (6.5%, 2/31) cases of tortuousity and kinking in the extracranial segment of the internal carotid artery. There were 15 (42.9%, 15/35), 6 (17.1%, 6/35), and 2 (5.7%, 2/35) cases of aortic arch type Ⅱ, type Ⅲ, and bovine type, respectively. Intravenous thrombolysis and arterial thrombolysis were performed in 13 and 29 cases, respectively. Complications occurred in 2 cases during treatment; 3 cases of symptoms fluctuated after treatment, and 10 cases of asymptomatic new infarcts occurred in imaging studies. Forty-eight cases were treated with antiplatelet aggregation/anticoagulation and hypolipidemic treatment. At discharge and 1 month after treatment, the recovery of functional vision was 7 and 17 cases, respectively. One month after treatment, 1 case died because myocardial infarction; 2 cases of neovascular glaucoma occurred. ConclusionThe proportion of CRAO patients with vascular risk factors and internal carotid artery abnormalities on the affected side is relatively high; the prognosis is relatively good after intravenous thrombolysis and/or arterial thrombolysis and secondary stroke prevention.
