ECOGRAPHIC DIAGNOSIS OF THE SUBCLAVIAN STEAL SYNDROME BY ULTRASONOGRAPHY AND DOPPLER

CASE REPORT

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: The subclavian steal syndrome refers to a vascular disorder with inversion of the vertebral artery blood flow due to proximal occlusion or stenosis. CASE REPORT: We report a clinical case of subclavian artery steal, the initial diagnostic hypothesis was labyrinthitis, due to the patient having frequent vertigo. The final diagnosis was made through ultrasound and Doppler, where we observed severe stenosis in the left subclavian artery, with the presence of an aliasing phenomenon. The left vertebral artery spectrogram revealed a partially inverted flow pattern, with medium-systolic deceleration, transmitting a “bunny rabbit” sign image. One of the main objectives of the Doppler examination of the vertebral arteries is the detection of retrograde blood flow, indicating the phenomenon of subclavian theft. This data was observed in our clinical case and was essential for the diagnosis of subclavian artery theft. CONCLUSION: In addition to having high diagnostic accuracy for subclavian artery theft, Doppler ultrasonography is a non-invasive method and can be repeated without prejudice to the patient.