Initial exploration of early carotid artery endothelial dysfunction in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients evaluated by ultrasound radio-frequency technique

Background The early endothelial dysfunction of carotid artery in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus （T2DM） has been recognized. However, the feasibility and significance of carotid artery endothelial dysfunction detected by ultrasound radio-frequency technology has been seldom studied. Methods The 2D ultrasound images of the bilateral common carotid arteries from 112 cases of T2DM patients and 50 cases of normal subjects in our hospital were collected to measure intima-media thickness means （IMTm）, end-systolic inner diameter （Ds）, end-diastolic inner diameter （Dd）, resistance index （RI）, pulse index （PI）, and the systole/diastole ratio （S/D）. We also observed the variation of the intima-media thickness （IMT） as well as the elasticity indexes of the common carotid artery, such as the compliance coefficient （CC）, elasticity coefficient （13）, pulse wave velocity （PWV） and augmentation index （AIx） through instruments with built-in ultrasound radio-frequency techniques, including quantitative intima-media thickness （QIMT） and quantitative analysis of arterial stiffness （QAS）. The differences of the above-mentioned parameters between the two groups were analyzed. Results There were no statisti- cally significant differences in IMTm, Ds, Dd, RI, PI and S/D raito of the common carotid arteries between group T2DM and the normal group （P 〉 0.01）. The 13, PWV and AIx in group T2DM were remarkably high- er than those in the control group, with CC value being significantly lower than the later （P 〈 0.01 or 0.05）. Conclusion Ultrasound radio-frequency technique offers earlier and more effective evaluation of carotid artery endothelial dysfunction in T2DM patients when compared with conventional 2D ultrasound, establishing imaging foundation for the early prevention and treatment of cardio-cerebrovascular complications in T2DM patients.