Review Article The Utility of Transcranial Doppler in the Acute Ischemic Stroke

The first clinical trials on the utility of Transcranial Doppler (TCD) in acute ischemic stroke (AIS) were conducted still in the pre-thrombolysis stage. Middle cerebral artery (MCA) mean flow velocity (MV) below 20 cm/sec or 50% below contralateral MCA within 24 hours translates worse prognostics factors1. Intravenous thrombolysis in the management of AIS brought forth an even higher utility of TCD in the acute phase – to add to emergency evaluation – thus allowing the identification of intracranial occlusion and acting as a unique tool for continuous monitoring of vessel recanalization2. More recent study designs suggest that changes found in TCD should be added to inclusion criteria for the use of intravenous thrombolytic, since that therapeutic regimen is potentially indicated and beneficial in cases of encephalic ischemia with intracranial arter