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LETTER
Duplex Scanning of Renal Arteries for Stenosis
Richard G. Appel, MD;
Anthony J. Bleyer, MD; and
Kimberley J. Hansen, MD
1 February 1996 | Volume 124 Issue 3 | Pages 370-371
TO THE EDITOR:
In their recent report, Olin and colleagues ([1]) state that a renal artery end diastolic velocity of 150 cm/sec or greater is an important criterion for diagnosing critical renal artery stenosis. This appears to be correct; however, for an end diastolic velocity of 150 cm/sec to have a high clinical utility, values less than 150 cm/sec should be helpful in identifying arteries that lack critical stenosis. Figure 3 of Olin and colleagues' report shows that this is clearly not the case ([1]). Several investigators have shown that end diastolic velocity correlates inversely with serum creatinine levels ([2]). Therefore, with significant renal parenchymal disease, end diastolic velocity may be reduced, even in the presence of critical renal artery stenosis. It is important to identify these patients, given that a low end diastolic velocity does not preclude beneficial blood pressure or renal function response in patients having revascularization ([2]). We recently reported that renal artery stenosis commonly occurs in older patients who are beginning renal replacement therapy ([3]). In these patients, end diastolic velocity was successfully measured in 80 consecutive nonoccluded arteries. The results are shown in Table 1. Although arteries with critical renal artery stenosis had a significantly higher end diastolic velocity than arteries without critical stenosis, overall end diastolic velocity was low. Peak systolic velocity was greater than 200 cm/sec in all arteries with critical stenosis and less than 200 cm/sec in all arteries without critical stenosis. In summary, an end diastolic volume of greater than 150 cm/sec may not be a highly useful criterion to identify critical renal artery stenosis because critical stenoses frequently occur with an end diastolic velocity of less than 150 cm/sec.
1. Olin JW, Piedmonte MR, Young JR, De Anna S, Grubb M, Childs MB. The utility of duplex ultrasound scanning of the renal arteries for diagnosing significant renal artery stenosis. Ann Intern Med. 1995; 122:833-8.
2. Hansen KJ, Tribble RW, Reavis SW, Canzanello VJ, Craven TE, Plonk GW Jr, et al. Renal duplex sonography: evaluation of clinical utility. J Vasc Surg. 1990; 12:227-36.
3. Appel RG, Bleyer AJ, Reavis S, Hansen KJ. Renovascular disease in older patients beginning renal replacement therapy. Kidney Int. (In press).