Internal carotid velocity measurements in children with cerebrovascular disease.

Internal carotid artery flow velocity was evaluated by the Doppler ultrasound method in 32 children with cerebrovascular disease. The average maximal blood velocity (A/L) and end-diastolic blood velocity (d) were compared with each other as indices of blood flow velocity. The right and left mean A/L and d of moyamoya disease were significantly lower than those observed in normal children. The A/L and d of the affected side both in internal carotid artery occlusion and in middle cerebral artery occlusion were also significantly low. In the subarachnoid hemorrhage after rupture, these values were significantly low. In basilar artery occlusion, these values were similar to those in normal children. The results of this study indicate that Doppler ultrasound assessment of internal carotid flow velocity provides noninvasive reliable information for the diagnosis of cerebrovascular disease in childhood.