Contrast-enhanced ultrasound for evaluating arteritis activity in Takayasu arteritis patients

Introduction Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) was recently used to evaluate vascularization within the carotid artery wall, and this process of vascularization was correlated with arteritis activity. We aimed to use CEUS to evaluate disease activity in Takayasu arteritis (TAK) patients. Method We used CEUS to analyze 28 consecutive TAK patients. Disease activity was assessed according to the NIH criteria. We measured CEUS grades and assessed the correlation between contrast features and disease activity. Results Higher erythrocyte sedimentation rates (ESRs) were found (35 +/- 28.7 vs. 13 +/- 7.4 mm/h, p < 0.01), and CEUS carotid wall enhancement was more frequently (100% vs. 36.6%, p < 0.01) seen in TAK patients in the active phase than in those in the inactive phase. With increasing CEUS grades, both the artery wall thickness and ESR increased, and patients were more likely to be in the active phase (0 in grade 0, 42.9% in grade 1, and 75% in grade 2). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis showed that CEUS had an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.872 (95% CI 0.785-0.959, p < 0.01), demonstrating good diagnostic accuracy. Conclusions Higher CEUS grades reliably identify patients with active TAK.