Doppler sonography of vertebral arteries and audiovestibular system investigation in leprosy.

Thirty-six patients with leprosy and 12 sex- and age-matched controls were investigated for disorders of the audiovestibular system, and vertebral artery measurements were calculated using a color Doppler ultrasound technique. Sensorineural hearing loss found to be of cochlear origin was detected in 8 of the leprosy patients. Maximal flow velocity and mean flow velocity were measured, and the total vertebral artery flow was calculated by adding flows from the right and left sides. There was a significant reduction in the total maximal peak flow velocity of the vertebral artery of the lepromatous patients compared to the controls. Doppler sonography of the vertebral artery gave useful information about some pathology seen in lepromatous patients.