Duplex ultrasound of extracranial carotid artery in a male patient of Takayasu's arteritis: a case report.

Takayasu's arteritis is a chronic inflammatory disease of artery. Its etiology is still uncertain. The disease mostly involves aorta and its major branches. We recently examined a young male patient using duplex Doppler ultrasound (DUS). High resolution real-time ultrasound revealed long-segment stenosis over common carotid arteries on both sides and internal carotid arteries, mostly due to adventitia thickening. Doppler ultrasound showed increased blood velocity of bilateral common carotid arteries with spectral broadening. B-mode findings correlated well with those of Doppler's, and all the information obtained from DUS was compatible with those of angiography. DUS is helpful in diagnosis of Takayasu's arteritis and provides hemodynamic data of the diseased carotid arteries. It can also be used as an effective tool for follow-up in patients with Takayasu's arteritis.