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Vascular ultrasound of the neck: an interpretive atlas
Ultrasound in Med. & Biol., Vol. 27, No. 12, p. 1717, 2001 Copyright © 2002 World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology Printed in the USA. All rights reserved 0301-5629/01/$–see front matter
● Book Review VASCULAR ULTRASOUND OF THE NECK: AN INTERPRETIVE ATLAS Antonio Alayo´n, William M. McKinney, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, 2001, 146 pp. This book is a photographic ultrasound (US) atlas comprising B-mode, colour flow and spectral Doppler US pictures of the neck vessels from aortic arch to intracranial arteries. The book will be most useful to those actually practising US, particularly when learning, and so will principally be of use to sonographers, vascular technologists and radiologists. As would be expected, images form the bulk of the book, with over 100 pictures covering the carotid arteries. The images are displayed two to a page, each accompanied by one or two paragraphs of explanatory text. Each of the main chapters consists of a brief introduction, followed by the images and then a useful summary of key practical points entitled “pearls and pitfalls.” Each chapter concludes with multiple choice questions on its content and references, often to textbooks, that will provide useful further reading. A brief chapter on clinical and US investigation of the neck vessels precedes the main subject area: carotid and vertebral artery images and waveforms. The book includes a chapter on cardiac rhythm and abnormal pulses, and the final chapters are on the internal jugular vein and US artefacts. The images are taken from videotape and have a high dynamic range; they are of good quality that is pleasingly uniform throughout the book. Both reading and browsing are
aided by a logical layout. The “pearls and pitfalls” sections, together with the questions and answers at the end of each chapter, enhance the book as a practical aid to learning. For the US practitioner, concerned with day-to-day accurate diagnostic scanning, the book does have shortfalls. It does not address the detail of haemodynamic assessment of carotid stenosis. The term critical stenosis (which perhaps should not be seen at all) is used for stenoses of 70% and 75%, and the criteria for stenosis table does not have a break point at the clinically important 70% diameter stenosis level. There is little reference to the differing European and North American trials definitions of (arteriographic) stenosis and the issues of accuracy and angle correction (to 60° or not) is not covered. In contrast, other texts, such as Zwiebel’s Introduction to Vascular Ultrasonography (now in its 4th edition) which is referred to widely throughout the book, provide this information in some detail. In conclusion, this book’s strengths lie in the clear images and accompanying text, especially the learning aids. The shortfalls are, perhaps, in areas that would not normally be covered by an atlas and, at £ 83, it is a useful addition to the library of departments involved in carotid US training. London, UK
PII: S0301-5629(01)00471-9
1717
DAVID E. GOSS
● Book Review VASCULAR ULTRASOUND OF THE NECK: AN INTERPRETIVE ATLAS Antonio Alayo´n, William M. McKinney, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, 2001, 146 pp. This book is a photographic ultrasound (US) atlas comprising B-mode, colour flow and spectral Doppler US pictures of the neck vessels from aortic arch to intracranial arteries. The book will be most useful to those actually practising US, particularly when learning, and so will principally be of use to sonographers, vascular technologists and radiologists. As would be expected, images form the bulk of the book, with over 100 pictures covering the carotid arteries. The images are displayed two to a page, each accompanied by one or two paragraphs of explanatory text. Each of the main chapters consists of a brief introduction, followed by the images and then a useful summary of key practical points entitled “pearls and pitfalls.” Each chapter concludes with multiple choice questions on its content and references, often to textbooks, that will provide useful further reading. A brief chapter on clinical and US investigation of the neck vessels precedes the main subject area: carotid and vertebral artery images and waveforms. The book includes a chapter on cardiac rhythm and abnormal pulses, and the final chapters are on the internal jugular vein and US artefacts. The images are taken from videotape and have a high dynamic range; they are of good quality that is pleasingly uniform throughout the book. Both reading and browsing are
aided by a logical layout. The “pearls and pitfalls” sections, together with the questions and answers at the end of each chapter, enhance the book as a practical aid to learning. For the US practitioner, concerned with day-to-day accurate diagnostic scanning, the book does have shortfalls. It does not address the detail of haemodynamic assessment of carotid stenosis. The term critical stenosis (which perhaps should not be seen at all) is used for stenoses of 70% and 75%, and the criteria for stenosis table does not have a break point at the clinically important 70% diameter stenosis level. There is little reference to the differing European and North American trials definitions of (arteriographic) stenosis and the issues of accuracy and angle correction (to 60° or not) is not covered. In contrast, other texts, such as Zwiebel’s Introduction to Vascular Ultrasonography (now in its 4th edition) which is referred to widely throughout the book, provide this information in some detail. In conclusion, this book’s strengths lie in the clear images and accompanying text, especially the learning aids. The shortfalls are, perhaps, in areas that would not normally be covered by an atlas and, at £ 83, it is a useful addition to the library of departments involved in carotid US training. London, UK
PII: S0301-5629(01)00471-9
1717
DAVID E. GOSS