Carotid contrast-enhanced ultrasonographic assessment of disease activity in Takayasu arteritis

To investigate the usefulness of carotid contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) in assessment of disease activity in patients with Takayasu arteritis (TA).After screening 219 CEUS records from 124 consecutive patients followed at our clinic between October 2014 and May 2018, data were analysed from 159 carotid CEUS from 86 patients diagnosed with Type I TA. Patients were categorized based on disease activity according to National Institutes of Health criteria into two groups: active disease group (92 CEUS) and non-active disease group (67 CEUS). The enhanced intensity of carotid artery wall: (i) was higher in active disease group than in non-active disease group (3.09 ± 1.67 dB vs. 1.44 ± 1.29 dB, P 0.0001, respectively); and (ii) had a high predictive value for TA disease activity with area under the curve (AUC) of 86.3% [95% confidence interval (CI) 79.7-92.9], sensitivity of 88.0%, and specificity of 79.1%. The latter AUC was not significantly affected (P 0.05) when erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein level, or arterial wall thickness were added to assessment of disease activity in TA.Carotid vascularization by CEUS, as sole inflammatory marker, had a high predictive value for disease activity in Type I TA.