Transcranial Doppler Ultrasonography (tcd)

[militarynurse]

Anyone ever had Transcranial Doppler ultrasonography (TCD) test at the VA or elsewhere for TBI or migraines etc.? Please advise if this was helpful to your compensation claim or diagnosis ( or not ).

[Izzy]

Anyone ever had Transcranial Doppler ultrasonography (TCD) test at the VA or elsewhere for TBI or migraines etc.? Please advise if this was helpful to your compensation claim or diagnosis ( or not ).

Hello militarynurse welcome

I read somewhere that these test dont actually mean anything because even if they do not find any injury or bruise or blood clogged they cannot state that you do not get migraine or that you suffer from TBI.

The best thing is read the info for TBI and anything that you can get on migraine and get very knowledgeable on both subjects, because when you get evaluated they will do and ask many test and questions.

I will try and find it.

Izzy

[Berta]

Never had one but I wish I did- I am very interested in Doppler stuff-

this is a test to measure brain blood flow and velocity-

basically an ultra sound of the brain-

that could impact on migraines and even a TBI claim.

http://www.neuro.neva.ru/English/Issues/Ar.../Razumovsky.htm

This report shows some of what this type of state of the art testing can reveal-

the problem with these tests is -can VA actually interpret the results properly?

[militarynurse]

This is from an actual VA TCD report:

"All 11 vessels of the Circle of Willis could be assed at the time of this stude (complect TCD).

1) Mean velocities of flow were within nl limits, except one vessel.

2)**Pulsatility indicies were significantly REDUCED in 9 vessels ( this is a TCD sign of migraine ).

3)**There were significant side-to-side DIFFERENCES in peak systolic velocities in the MCAs ( this is also a TCD sign of migraine ).

Impression: Migraine (346.9)."

So, it might be a test worth requesting...at least to document some evidence of migraines.

[Alex Razumovsky]

Dear all,

Transcranial Doppler (TCD) ultrasound is a quantitative ultrasound test that measures linear blood flow velocity in cm/sec through the major brain vessels. TCD major utilization are for patients with cerebrovascular diseases and traumatic brain injury because with TCD you can detect abnormalities of brain blood flow that could be associated with vessels disease, like stenosis/narrowing/occlusion, presence of post-traumatic or post-TBI vasospasm or decreased brain blood flow due to the onset of abnormally high ICP or presence of intracranial hypertension.

US Army/AMEDD TBI TCD program that started in Oct. 2008 provides TCD services currently at Navy National Medical Center (Bethesda, MD), Walter Reed Army Med. Center (Washington, DC) and Brooke Army Military Med. Center (San Antonio, TX).

Clinical value and utilization of TCD for patients after traumatic brain injury, after aneurysm rupture, in patients with sickle cell disease, patients with arteriovenous malformation, ischemic stroke is well established and validated in numerous papers. TCD value for patients with migraine is not so well documented and investigations still must be done. However, there are very interesting observational studies that suggesting certain limk between migraine and so-called Patent Foramen Ovale or abnormal right-to-left cardiac shunt.

Alex Razumovsky