Objective: To evaluate the accuracy of contrast-enhanced ultrasound(CEUS) scanning in identifying vulnerable plaque in carotid artery. Methods: The study included a total of 25 patients who suffered from carotid artery stenosis and underwent carotid endarterectomy from January 2016 to December 2017 in Beijing Tsinghua Changgung Hospital, School of Clinical Medicine, Tsinghua University. Preoperative carotid artery contrast enhanced ultrasound and High-resolution MRI were performed to all patients to determine whether the plaques were stable. All patients then underwent carotid endarterectomy, during which, plaques were completely removed. Biopsies were performed using HE staining and CD31, CD34 and SMA immunohistochemistry was used to identify the plaques properties, including the thickness and integrity of the fiber cap, neovascular endothelium, hemorrhage, and inflammatory cells in the removed plaques.The results of these tests were compared with the diagnosis through the pre-operative imaging. Results: Among twenty-five cases, the pre-operative CEUS revealed sixteen with unstable plaques and nine with stable plaques. Meanwhile the post-operation pathology confirmed seventeen cases with unstable plaque components. The sensitivity of CEUS in the identification of carotid vulnerable plaque was 88.2%(15/17), the specificity was 87.5%(7/8), and the overall diagnostic accuracy was 88%(22/25). The sensitivity, specificity and overall diagnostic accuracy of high resolution MR for vulnerable plaque identification were 83.3%(10/12), 71.4%(5/7), 78.9%(15/19), respectively. There were no significant difference between two groups(χ(2)=0.003, P>0.05). Conclusions: The sensitivity, specificity and overall diagnostic accuracy of the CEUS for vulnerable plaque identification are high.Therefore, CEUS is recommended as one of the pre-operative diagnostic method for unstable plaque in carotid stenosis.
目的： 评估颈动脉超声造影对易损斑块识别的准确性。 方法： 本研究为前瞻性临床队列研究。选择2016年1月至2017年12月清华大学附属北京清华长庚医院25例颈动脉狭窄并接受颈动脉内膜剥脱手术的患者。术前常规行颈动脉超声造影以及斑块高分辨核磁成像判断斑块性质是否稳定。所有患者行颈动脉内膜剥脱术，完整剥除斑块组织，并行连续病理切片，通过HE染色及CD31、CD34、SMA免疫组化，分析斑块性质，包括纤维帽厚度、完整性及斑块内是否存在新生血管、出血或炎症细胞浸润等。通过病理最终明确斑块性质，并与术前颈动脉斑块的影像学检查结果作对照，以判定术前颈动脉影像学检查对于易损斑块识别的准确率。 结果： 25例患者中，术前超声造影判定不稳定斑块16例，稳定斑块9例；术后病理证实斑块标本中17例可检查出不稳定成分，超声造影对颈动脉易损斑块识别的敏感度为88.2%(15/17)，特异度为87.5%(7/8)，总体诊断符合率为88%(22/25)。高分辨率核磁对易损斑块识别的敏感度、特异度以及总体诊断符合率分别为83.3%(10/12)、71.4%(5/7)、78.9%(15/19)，以术后病理作为金标准，两种检测易损斑块方法的准确性差异无统计学意义(χ(2)＝0.003，P>0.05)。 结论： 超声造影对颈动脉斑块稳定性评估的准确性较高，推荐作为颈动脉狭窄术前识别不稳定斑块的检查之一。.
Keywords: Atherectomy; Carotid stenosis; Magnetic resonance imaging; Pathology; Ultrasonography.