Color Doppler flow imaging of the superior ophthalmic vein in dural arteriovenous fistulas.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE This article evaluates the intracranial venous hemodynamics of dural arteriovenous fistula (DAVF) on the basis of data from color Doppler flow imaging (CDFI) findings of the superior ophthalmic vein (SOV) and discusses the clinical application of the SOV CDFI to the DAVFs. METHODS We examined the diameter, flow direction, flow waveform, and flow velocity of the SOV using CDFI in 20 patients with intracranial DAVF. Six patients were asymptomatic; the other 14 patients were symptomatic. Angiographic retrograde cortical venous filling was seen in 14 patients. RESULTS In the DAVFs, the average SOV diameter was 2.95+/-1.15 mm, which was significantly broad compared with that of the control subjects (P<0.05). The flow direction was reversed in 2 patients and normal in the other 18 patients. Three patients showed an abnormal waveform. A reversed pulsatile waveform was observed in 2 patients, and a normograde pulsatile waveform was seen in 1 patient. The other 17 patients showed normal waveform. The average SOV diameter and resistance index values were significantly higher (P<0.05) in patients with clinical symptoms, angiographic retrograde cortical venous fillings, or large DAVFs compared with those in the other patients. CONCLUSIONS The SOV CDFI findings in DAVFs correlated well with the patient's clinical symptoms, angiographic findings, and DAVF size. These findings were useful to evaluate the intracranial venous hemodynamics in DAVFs.