Provider-Induced Demand in the Treatment of Carotid Artery Stenosis

Diagnosis and treatment of carotid artery stenosis.

Diagnosis and management of carotid arterial occlusive disease and its ensuing comorbid illnesses have been the focus of extensive debate during the past two decades. The development of sophisticated ultrasound technology has enabled us to objectively define the severity of carotid stenosis in regions commonly accountable for stroke. Results from several well-designed prospective randomized tri...

Evaluation and Treatment of Carotid Artery Stenosis

Management of the treatment delay in symptomatic carotid artery stenosis.

Saving time to intervention is crucial in patients with symptomatic carotid artery stenosis (SCAS). We introduced a fast-track protocol (FTP). Time frames from the onset of symptoms to intervention before and after the introduction of an FTP were analyzed. SCAS patients (403 patients/405 procedures) were evaluated according to whether surgery was performed before (group 1) or after (group 2) th...

Cost-Effectiveness of Carotid Endarterectomy versus Carotid Artery Stenting for Treatment of Carotid Artery Stenosis

BACKGROUND Symptomatic or asymptomatic patients with significant carotid artery stenosis (range, 70% to 99%) generally undergo either carotid artery endarterectomy (CEA) or carotid artery stenting (CAS) to prevent stroke. In this study, we evaluated the cost effectiveness of these two treatment modalities. METHODS A total of 47 patients (mean age, 67.1±9.1 years; male, 87.2%) undergoing eithe...

Extracranial carotid artery stenosis.

BACKGROUND Carotid endarterectomy is the most common surgical procedure used to treat stenosis of the extracranial precerebral carotid artery. Data from several randomized controlled trials are available to help guide its use in specific patient subgroups. Carotid angioplasty with stenting is also being performed, and clinical trials comparing this procedure with carotid endarterectomy are in p...