BACKGROUND: @entity543 ( @entity543 ) is a well-known risk factor for perioperative @entity64 in cardiac surgery. It is unclear whether preoperative carotid screening should be applied to all @entity1 . Carotid intervention concomitantly with cardiac operations is also controversial. Our objective was to identify the prevalence of significant @entity543 and its related risk factors by applying a protocol of preoperative carotid screening to all @entity1 undergoing cardiac surgery. METHODS: We studied 307 @entity1 who were primarily screened preoperatively by duplex Doppler ultrasonography. Catheter carotid angiography or transcranial Doppler was performed on equivocal cases. Univariate and multivariate analyses were applied across selected parameters to identify risk factors for significant @entity543 (> 70%). The prevalence of @entity543 and perioperative @entity64 rates were determined. RESULTS: Twenty-two @entity1 with severe and 18 with moderate @entity543 were identified. Further radiological evaluation with catheter carotid angiography and transcranial Doppler confirmed the presence of significant @entity543 in 20 @entity1 who underwent carotid stenting or endarterectomy before the open heart surgery. The cardiac surgeon was free to modify the surgical technique according to the preoperative assessment. No @entity1 had major @entity64 perioperatively, while two minor @entity64 with complete neurologic recovery have been documented. The history of @entity64 and the presence of bruit on clinical examination were the only significant predictors of severe @entity66 . CONCLUSION: Careful clinical examination together with detailed previous history taking can identify the majority of @entity1 with @entity543 . Further data are required for the construction of a scientifically valid policy as a guideline.

Preoperative screening and management of carotid artery disease in XXXX undergoing cardiac surgery.

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['patients', 'patient'] @entity64 :: ('MESH:D020521', 'Disease') :: ['strokes', 'stroke'] @entity543 :: ('MESH:D016893', 'Disease') :: ['carotid stenosis', 'CAS', 'Carotid artery stenosis'] @entity66 :: ('MESH:D004194', 'Disease') :: ['carotid disease']
@entity1 :: (9606,Species) :: ['patients']
