Clinical and Carotid Ultrasonographic Features of IntracranialDural Arteriovenous Fistulas in Patients with and withoutPulsatile Tinnitus

摘要

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Pulsatile tinnitus is a common symptom of intracranial dural arteriovenous fistulas(DAVF). This study aims to characterize the clinical and ultrasonographic features ofDAVF in patients with pulsatile tinnitus.METHODS We compared the characteristics of DAVF and carotid duplex sonography (CDS) resultsbetween 67 DAVF patients with and without pulsatile tinnitus. We also investigatedthe relationship between changes in tinnitus status and serial CDS changes in 25 DAVFpatients with pulsatile tinnitus. RESULTS Pulsatile tinnitus was highly associated with the location and feeding arteries of DAVF(P < .001). The sensitivity of resistive index (RI; Norm, >.72) and end diastolic velocity(EDV; Norm, <21 cm/sec) of external carotid artery (ECA) in CDS study for diagnosingDAVF in patients with pulsatile tinnitus was 95% and 92%, respectively. Changes of RIand EDV of ECA also correlated with the changes of tinnitus status. CONCLUSIONS RI and EDV of ECA have high diagnostic sensitivity and reliability for detecting DAVF inpatients with pulsatile tinnitus.