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J Neuroanaesth Crit Care 2015; 02(03): 215-220
DOI: 10.4103/2348-0548.165042
Review Article
Thieme Medical and Scientific Publishers Private Ltd.

Transcranial Doppler

Manish K Marda
Department of Neuroanaesthesia and Pain, Fortis Hospital, Noida, Uttar Pradesh
,
Hemanshu Prabhakar
1   Department of Neuroanaesthesiology and Critical Care, Neurosciences Centre, AIIMS, New Delhi, India
› Author Affiliations
Subject Editor:
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Publication History

Publication Date:
02 May 2018 (online)

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Abstract

Transcranial Doppler (TCD) is a bedside, non-invasive, reproducible, non-expensive neuromonitoring device which can be used in many clinical scenarios. Based on the principle of the Doppler shift, blood flow velocity (FV) in the cerebral vessels can be measured. It should be noted that TCD measures blood FV and not the cerebral blood flow (CBF). However, in a given condition, FV can be used as a surrogate marker for vessel diameter or CBF. Indirectly, it can also measure the CBF and the intracranial pressure. This review describes briefly the method of using the equipment and the various indices that can be measured. The applications of TCD are varied. The review also gives an account of the various clinical situations where TCD can be used. An inter-operator variability is an important limiting factor with the use of the TCD. However, in many of clinical scenario, the TCD can still be used to guide for decision-making.

Keywords

Cerebral autoregulation - cerebral blood flow velocity - cerebral vasospasm - middle cerebral artery - pulsatility index - transcranial Doppler
 

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