Abstract
Objective: The goal of the study is to appraise the diagnostic validity of carotid Doppler ultrasound in stroke patients. Design: Retrospective Setting: Aseer central Hospital, Abha, Saudi Arabia Methods: A total of 77 stroke patients, admitted to Asir Central Hospital (ACH), Saudi Arabia, from January 2017 to December 2018 were enrolled. The degree of carotid artery stenosis was assessed by CT-angiography and carotid Doppler ultrasonography. The degree of stenosis was classified as: <70% or >70% and <50% or >50%. Considering CT-angiography the gold standard reference test, the diagnostic validity of carotid Doppler ultrasonography was calculated. Results: The location of stenosis was in the internal carotid artery among 69% of patients, while in 19%, it involved both the common carotid and the internal carotid arteries. Doppler ultrasonography had a sensitivity of 100%, a specificity of 87.5%, a positive predictive value of 94.6%, a negative predictive value of 87.5%, and an overall accuracy of 96.1%, when considering cut-off point of 50% stenosis. Conclusion: Carotid Doppler ultrasound offers high diagnostic validity among stroke patients. It is highly recommended for screening cases with symptoms of transient ischemic attacks or for differential diagnosis of stroke. However, since it is operator-dependent, continued training of radiographers and the use of enhanced technology are essential to improve its diagnostic validity.