Use of duplex scanning in the diagnosis of arteria profunda femoris stenosis.

To evaluate the accuracy of duplex scanning in diagnosing arteria profunda femoris stenoses in patients with concomitant superficial femoral artery occlusions, 123 femoral artery bifurcations were examined in 103 patients. Peak systolic and time-averaged maximal flow velocity parameters were measured in the arteria profunda femoris and compared with independently performed angiography. For detecting stenoses greater than 30% diameter reduction (50% by area) of the arteria profunda femoris, duplex scanning had a sensitivity of 91% and 96%, a specificity of 85% and 98%, a positive predictive value of 86% and 98%, and a negative predictive value of 91% and 96%, for a peak systolic velocity of 180 cm/sec and more, and for a time-averaged maximal velocity of 50 cm/sec and more in the arteria profunda femoris, respectively. The day-to-day variability for peak systolic and time-averaged maximal velocity parameters was low with correlation coefficients between velocity measurements on both days of 0.96 and 0.98 (n = 20), respectively. In 10 patients with arteria profunda femoris stenoses and superficial femoral artery occlusions, undergoing percutaneous transluminal angioplasty of arteria profunda femoris stenosis, the duplex scan revealed a reduction in stenotic peak systolic velocity from 330 +/- 84 to 163 +/- 50 cm/sec and a decrease in stenotic time-averaged maximal velocity from 156 +/- 47 to 54 +/- 17 cm/sec after the interventional procedure. These results show that peak systolic and time-averaged maximal velocities are accurate parameters to detect significant arteria profunda femoris stenosis in patients with superficial femoral artery occlusions.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)