Abstract:
Objective To investigate the ultrasound diagnostic concordance rates for carotid artery stenosis in Guangdong Province Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, as well as for renal artery stenosis in Guangdong Province, to evaluate the current management status of vascular ultrasound critical values, and to develop scientific, refined, and actionable quality improvement measures grounded in the survey findings, with the aim of providing a foundation for enhancing the overall quality of vascular ultrasound diagnosis.
Methods A multicenter retrospective analysis was conducted using 2023–2024 ultrasound data. The dataset included carotid artery stenosis data from 26 hospitals in Guangxi and 33 hospitals in Guangdong, renal artery stenosis data from 63 medical institutions in Guangdong, and vascular ultrasound critical value management data from 68 medical institutions.
Results The ultrasound diagnostic concordance rate for carotid artery stenosis showed an upward trend in both regions. In Guangdong Province, the rate increased from 85.4% (2990/3501) in 2023 to 88.2% (2247/2549), representing an absolute increase of 2.8%. In Guangxi, the rate rose from 79.1% (1078/1362) to 81.8% (1759/2151), with an absolute increase of 2.7%, with Guangdong showing somewhat greater improvement. For renal artery stenosis in Guangdong, data entry non-compliance was identified: only 39.7% (25/63) of institutional datasets were deemed valid, and some institutions had not adopted the recommended guidelines. Regarding vascular ultrasound critical value reporting in Guangdong, timeliness was satisfactory (100%), but incomplete reporting and incomplete image retention were noted. The completeness rate for reports was 89.8% (778/866), and that for images was 86.1% (746/866).
Conclusion Given the issues identified in this survey, we recommend implementing unified diagnostic criteria, systematic quality control procedures, and targeted professional training to further improve the accuracy and standardization of vascular ultrasound diagnosis.
Key words:
Ultrasound,
Carotid artery stenosis,
Renal artery stenosis,
Critical value management,
Diagnostic concordance rate
Weibo Zeng, Yanni He, Ran Xiong, Zhen Wang, Zhili Xu, Hongmei Liu. Current practices in management of critical values for carotid (Guangdong and Guangxi) and renal (Guangdong) artery stenosis on vascular ultrasound: a cross-sectional survey[J]. Chinese Journal of Medical Ultrasound (Electronic Edition), 2026, 23(05): 355-359.