[Doppler ultrasound of precerebral arteries. A retrospective study of referral routines and findings].

This study reports the activities of the cerebrovascular laboratory at Ullevål hospital in 1990. 713 patients (332 men and 381 women; mean age 60 years) were examined with pulsed Doppler ultrasound. Pathological findings were detected in 202 patients (28%). Among these, 43 patients (6%) had stenosis in the internal carotid artery < 70%, 31 patients (4.3%) stenosis > or = 70% and 30 patients (4.2%) had occluded internal carotid artery. 48 patients (6.7%) had stenosis of the external carotid artery. Subclavian steal was detected in 16 patients (2.2%), stenosis in the subclavian artery without steal in 12 patients (1.7%), and atypical or suspect pathological signals from the vertebral artery in 22 patients (3.1%). The occurrence of pathological ultrasound findings was strongly related to the reasons for referral. There were pathological ultrasound findings in 77% of the cases with symptomatic neck bruit. No pathological findings were detected in patients < 50 years who were referred for ultrasound examination because of vertigo. Most patients were referred by the Department of Neurology (n = 386), but relatively few patients (16%) had pathological ultrasound findings. The occurrence of pathological findings in patients referred from other hospital departments (n = 131) and general practitioners (n = 84) was 53% and 44%, respectively.