B-flow sonographic evaluation of hemodialysis fistulas: a comparison with low- and high-pulse repetition frequency color and power Doppler sonography

Thrombin injection under B-flow and ultrasound guidance: A safe and effective treatment of pseudoaneurysms

PURPOSE

To evaluate the method of thrombin injection under B-flow and ultrasound guidance (BUGTI) for the treatment of pseudoaneurysms.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Twenty-one patients suffering from pseudoaneurysm (PSA) were retrospectively reviewed at the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University in Nanjing, China, from January 2018 to August 2019. The patients were treated using an ultrasound-guided injection of thrombin (500 IU/mL) combined with B-mode blood flow imaging (B-flow). The information on the PSA, including the size of the arterial rupture and sac, flow rate, thrombin dose, and treatment outcome, was recorded during the procedure. Follow-up evaluation was performed at 1, 3, and 6 months after the treatment. Pearson's correlation analysis was performed among the characteristics of PSA and the dose of thrombin.

RESULT

The age of patients ranged from 34 to 80 years and averaged 62.8 years. The maximum cross-sectional area of PSA ranged from 208 to 1148 mm2. All patients were treated with thrombin injections. The dose of thrombin ranged from 300 to 1667 IU. No reperfusions were detected at follow-up 6 months, and the BUGTI treatment was successful in all 21 cases. Pearson's correlation analysis demonstrated that the dose of thrombin was positively correlated with the width (r = 0.449, p < .05) and maximum cross-sectional area (r = 0.504, p < .05) of PSA.

CONCLUSION

Thrombin injection under B-flow and ultrasound guidance is a rapid and effective treatment for PSA. Additionally, the sac size could be used to estimate the dose of thrombin.

Internal Jugular Vein Thrombosis: Etiology, Symptomatology, Diagnosis and Current Treatment

(1) Background: internal jugular vein thrombosis (IJVthr) is a potentially life-threating disease but no comprehensive reviews on etiology, symptomatology, diagnosis and current treatment guidelines are yet available; (2) Methods: we prospectively developed a protocol that defined objectives, search strategy for study identification, criteria for study selection, data extraction, study outcomes, and statistical methodology, according to the PRISMA standard. We performed a computerized search of English-language publications listed in the various electronic databases. We also retrieved relevant reports from other sources, especially by the means of hand search in the Glauco Bassi Library of the University of Ferrara; (3) Results: using the predefined search strategy, we retrieved and screened 1490 titles. Data from randomized control trials were few and limited to the central vein catheterization and to the IJVthr anticoagulation treatment. Systematic reviews were found just for Lemierre syndrome, the risk of pulmonary embolism, and the IJVthr following catheterization. The majority of the information required in our pre-defined objectives comes from perspectives observational studies and case reports. The methodological quality of the included studies was from moderate to good. After title and abstract evaluation, 1251 papers were excluded, leaving 239 manuscripts available. Finally, just 123 studies were eligible for inclusion. We found out the description of 30 different signs, symptoms, and blood biomarkers related to this condition, as well as 24 different reported causes of IJVthr. (4) Conclusions: IJVthr is often an underestimated clinical problem despite being one of the major sources of pulmonary embolism as well as a potential cause of stroke in the case of the upward propagation of the thrombus. More common symptoms are neck pain and headache, whereas swelling, erythema and the palpable cord sign beneath the sternocleidomastoid muscle, frequently associated with fever, are the most reported clinical signs. An ultrasound of the neck, even limited to the simple and rapid assessment of the compression maneuver, is a quick, economic, cost-effective, noninvasive tool. High quality studies are currently lacking.

B-Flow Imaging in Lower Limb Peripheral Arterial Disease and Bypass Graft Ultrasonography

Doppler ultrasonography plays a key role in the diagnosis of peripheral arterial disease, but is often limited by pitfalls that may be overcome by B-flow imaging. Thus far, there is little information on B-flow imaging for the assessment of peripheral arterial disease and bypass grafts in lower limbs. This article describes the authors' early experience with B-flow in the lower extremities. Sixty patients were included among a large cohort of patients routinely referred to the vascular laboratory for peripheral arterial disease and bypass graft assessments. Two experienced vascular sonographers performed all scans, comparing color Doppler ultrasonography with B-flow imaging. All scans were performed using a combination of the 9 L linear and C2-9 curvilinear transducers with the LOGIQ E9 system (GE Healthcare, Waukesha, WI, USA). Our experience indicates that this relatively unexplored technology has the potential to significantly improve peripheral blood flow evaluation. Nevertheless, B-flow imaging is not exempt from limitations and should be considered complementary to color Doppler ultrasonography.

B-flow imaging for the measurement of residual lumen diameter of renal artery stenosis

BACKGROUND

The aim of this study was to assess the accuracy and efficacy of B-flow imaging (BFI) in the diagnosis and measurement of renal artery stenosis (RAS) compared with color duplex ultrasonography (CDU) and digital subtraction angiography (DSA).

METHODS

Fifty-one consecutive patients with RAS diagnosed and measured with DSA were subsequently and independently examined with BFI for the measurement of residual lumen diameter, and with CDU for the measurement of peak systolic velocity and renal-aortic velocity ratio. The diagnostic performances of BFI and CDU in determining 60-99% RAS were compared by receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. The agreement between DSA and BFI stenosis measurements was evaluated with Bland-Altman method.

RESULTS

The area under curve was 0.983 for BFI and 0.959 for CDU, without a significant difference in diagnostic performances (p = 0.26). BFI yielded an 88% sensitivity and 94% specificity in the diagnosis of RAS with a 3% underestimation of RAS compared to DSA (95% confidence interval 1.4%, 4.6%).

CONCLUSIONS

BFI is an accurate method that minimally underestimates RAS. It might provide an additional benefit to CDU in patients with RAS.

B-Flow Imaging of the Hepatic Vasculature: Correlation with Color Doppler Sonography

OBJECTIVE

B-flow imaging is a non-Doppler technology that provides real-time imaging of blood flow during gray-scale sonography. The utility of B-flow imaging is reflected in numerous publications that describe normal and pathologic findings in the carotid arteries and hemodialysis fistulas. However, there is a paucity of articles describing B-flow imaging of the abdominopelvic viscera. The purpose of this article is to illustrate a spectrum of findings encountered during noninvasive flow evaluation of the hepatic vasculature, correlating the Doppler sonography and B-flow imaging findings.

CONCLUSION

Color and spectral Doppler sonography are invaluable for noninvasive evaluation of the hepatic vasculature. However, a number of pitfalls and artifacts have been described that can cause important pathologic findings to be overlooked or can suggest incorrect diagnoses. In our experience, B-flow imaging often correctly displays normal and pathological vascular structures for which Doppler sonographic findings have been misleading or erroneous.