Ambulatory transcranial Doppler cerebral embolic signal detection in symptomatic and asymptomatic carotid stenosis.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Transcranial Doppler (TCD) ultrasound can detect asymptomatic emboli in carotid stenosis. Current systems are nonportable and can only record for short durations. A novel ambulatory TCD system allows prolonged recording. We applied this to patients with symptomatic and asymptomatic carotid stenosis to determine patterns of embolization in the 2 conditions and optimal recording protocols. METHODS Ambulatory TCD recordings were performed in 12 symptomatic and 15 asymptomatic carotid stenosis (> or =50%) patients for 8 hours and then repeated on a second occasion. RESULTS Nine (75%) of symptomatic subjects had embolic signals during the first recording. In this group, repeating the recording did not increase the proportion of positive patients. In asymptomatic patients, 4 (26.7%) had embolic signals on 1 recording, and this proportion increased to 46.7% after 2 recordings. There was significant clustering of embolic signals demonstrating that the process was nonrandom. CONCLUSIONS Ambulatory TCD is possible in patients with carotid artery stenosis. By increasing the duration of recording, additional information is provided, particularly in asymptomatic patients. Our results also demonstrate clustering of embolic signals. Our study provides baseline data to allow studies in both asymptomatic and symptomatic carotid stenosis to be planned.