Diagnostic value of transcranial color-coded duplex in cerebral venous thrombosis

Abstract Background Transcranial color-coded duplex (TCCD) is considered a complementary technique among different diagnostic tools and the one which can assess hemodynamic state, besides being an easy, rapid, and safe tool that may help in diagnosing and monitoring cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) patients. Aim is to detect cut off values of deep venous system velocities in Egyptian CVT patients and to test sensitivity and specificity of Transcranial color-coded duplex (TCCD) in diagnosis of CVT. Eighty CVT patients and 80 normal healthy individuals were included in this study. Deep middle cerebral veins and basal veins were evaluated using TCCD. Both sides were compared to each other, inter-side difference, cut off values, sensitivity, and specificity. Results Cut off values of deep middle cerebral veins and basal veins were detected for the diagnosis of CVT with (p < 0.001) with sensitivity of 55.6 to 100% and specificity ranging from 78.8 to 100%. Conclusion TCCD reflects the hemodynamic state of the venous system and has high sensitivity and specificity in the diagnosis and exclusion of CVT.