Ultrasound in medicine & biology
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Ultrasound Med Biol · Aug 2014
Quantification of carotid plaque neovascularization using contrast-enhanced ultrasound with histopathologic validation.
We sought to evaluate contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) imaging for the quantification of carotid plaque neovascularization. Seventeen patients underwent carotid endarterectomy after standard ultrasound and CEUS. Semiquantitative and quantitative analyses of contrast enhancement within the plaque were performed using a visual interpretation scale and quantitative analysis software, respectively. ⋯ Semiquantitative and quantitative analyses were not correlated with macrophage infiltration at the plaque. Contrast enhancement in the carotid plaque was correlated with neovascularity at the histopathologic exam. Furthermore, semiquantitative and quantitative measurements were highly correlated with each other, suggesting that either can be used to detect intraplaque neovascularization.