comparison of intima-media thickness of common and internal carotid arteries of patients with ischemic stroke and intracerebral hemorrhage.

background: role of atherosclerosis  in the pathogenesis of ischemic and hemorrhagic  infarctions is still matter  of debate. intima-media thickness (imt) of the common carotid  artery (cca) and  internal  carotid  artery (ica) are markers of atherosclerosis. the aim of this study was to compare  cca imt and ica imt of patients  with ischemic and hemorrhagic infarction. methods: two equal groups of 80 patients  with small and large vessel ischemic stroke and 80 patients with non- traumatic  intracerebral  hemorrhage (ich) who referred to our central teaching  hospital of zahedan  were assessed  in this descriptive  study. imt of four arteries  (right and  left cca and  ica)  were  measured,  and  collected  data  were analysis using student’s t-test. results: there were  137 males  (57.1%) and  103 (42.9%) female with mean age of 62.7 ± 11.7. mean right cca imt of patients  with small vessel diseases  (svd), large vessel diseases (lvd), and ich were 0.564 ± 0.130, 0.623 ± 0.150, and 0.580 ± 0.140 mm, respecti ely (p = 0.032). mean left cca imt   of  patients   with  svd,   lvd,   and   ich   were 0.569  ±  0.120,  0.618  ±  0.120,  and  0.573  ±  0.130  mm, respectively (p = 0.039). the above  ?ndings  for right ica were 0.572 ± 0.120, 0.569 ± 0.140, and 0.522 ± 0.130 mm, respectively (p = 0.145). those ?ndings for left ica imt were 0.525 ± 0.110, 0.554 ± 0.120, and 0.527 ± 0.120 mm, respectively (p = 0.257). conclusion: our findings showed  that by using cca imt, differentiation  between small and  large vessel infarctions and hemorrhagic infarctions can be made.