The final version may contain major or minor changes.Subscription: Information about subscribing to Minerva Medica journals is online at: http://www.minervamedica.it/en/how-to-order-journals.php Reprints and permissions: For information about reprints and permissions send an email to:
Blunt thoracic aortic injury (BTAI) is a potentially fatal condition that needs prompt recognition and expedited management. Clinical manifestations of BTAI are not straight forwarding and may be misdiagnosed. The grade of aortic injury is an important determinant of perioperative mortality and morbidity, as well as the indication of treatment, along with the presence of concomitant lesions of other involved organs. The mainstay of treatment nowadays for hemodynamically stable patients who survive the trauma scene is represented by delayed endovascular repair whenever anatomically and clinically feasible. Endovascular repair, in fact, is burdened by lower perioperative mortality and morbidity rates if compared to open surgical repair, but concerns remain about the need for long-term surveillance and radiation exposure in patients who are at a younger age than patients treated for the aneurysmal disease. The aim of the paper is to provide an update on the diagnostic modalities and strategies of treatment for patients affected by BTAI.
We aimed at evaluating the ability of point shear-wave elastography (pSWE) and of a radiofrequency (RF) echo-tracking-based method in preoperatively assessing the vulnerability of the carotid plaque in patients undergoing carotid endarterectomy (CEA) for significant asymptomatic stenosis. All patients who underwent CEA from 03/2021 to 03/2022 performed a preoperative pSWE and an RF echo-based wall evaluation of arterial stiffness using an Esaote MyLab ultrasound system (EsaoteTM, Genova, Italy) with dedicated software. The data derived from these evaluations (Young’s modulus (YM), augmentation index (AIx), pulse-wave velocity (PWV)) were correlated with the outcome of the analysis of the plaque removed during the surgery. Data were analyzed on 63 patients (33 vulnerable and 30 stable plaques). In stable plaques, YM was significantly higher than in vulnerable plaques (49.6 + 8.1 kPa vs. 24.6 + 4.3 kPa, p = 0.009). AIx also tended to be slightly higher in stable plaques, even if it was not statistically significant (10.4 + 0.9% vs. 7.7 + 0.9%, p = 0.16). The PWV was similar (12.2 + 0.9 m/s for stable plaques vs. 10.6 + 0.5 m/s for vulnerable plaques, p = 0.16). For YM, values >34 kPa had a sensitivity of 50% and a specificity of 73.3% in predicting plaque nonvulnerability (area under the curve = 0.66). Preoperative measurement of YM by means of pSWE could be a noninvasive and easily applicable tool for assessing the preoperative risk of plaque vulnerability in asymptomatic patients who are candidates for CEA.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.