Your new experience awaits. Try the new design now and help us make it even better

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Neurol.

Sec. Stroke

Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fneur.2025.1660031

This article is part of the Research TopicNeurosonology in StrokeView all 10 articles

Predictive Value of Carotid Artery Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound Combined with Clinical Indicators in Ischemic Stroke Patients

Provisionally accepted
Xinrong  SongXinrong Song1Min  ChenMin Chen2Xiaona  WangXiaona Wang2Huimin  NiuHuimin Niu3*
  • 1Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, China
  • 2Hebei General Hospital, Shijiazhuang, China
  • 3Hebei General Hospital Affiliated to Hebei Medicine University, Shijiazhuang, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

Objective: To assess the predictive significance of carotid artery contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) combined with the triglyceride glucose index (TyG index) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) to high-density Lipoprotein (HDL) ratio in patients with ischemic stroke (IS). Methods: This study included 130 patients admitted to the hospital from June 2021 to June 2023. All patients underwent carotid artery CEUS and were divided into two groups: the ischemic stroke group (IS, n = 73) and the non-ischemic stroke group (NIS, n = 57). Baseline characteristics of both groups were analyzed and compared to identify differences.. Logistic regression analysis was performed to determine independent risk factors for IS. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were constructed to assess the predictive performance of CEUS classification, TyG index, LDL/HDL ratio, and their combination. Results: Among the 130 patients, the IS group consisted of 73 individuals (53 males, 20 females), with an average age of 64.87±10.55 years, while the NIS group included 57 patients (20 males, 37 females) with an average age of 63.12±10.26 years. The IS group exhibited significantly higher CEUS classification, TyG index, and LDL/HDL ratio compared to the NIS group. Logistic regression analysis identified CEUS classification (OR 3.521, 95% CI 1.731-7.161, p = 0.001), TyG index (OR 3.851, 95% CI 1.129-13.142, p = 0.031), and LDL/HDL ratio (OR 2.957, 95% CI 1.321-6.622, p = 0.008) as independent risk factors for IS. The areas under the ROC Curve (AUC) for predicting IS were 0.871 for CEUS classification, 0.766 for TyG index, and 0.735 for LDL/HDL ratio. The combined application of these indicators yielded an AUC of 0.910, which was significantly higher than that of any single indicator. Conclusion: CEUS classification, TyG index, and LDL/HDL ratio are useful predictors of IS. Their combined use significantly enhances predictive accuracy.

Keywords: carotid artery, contrast-enhanced ultrasound, Triglyceride-glucose index, LDL/HDL, Ischemicstroke

Received: 05 Jul 2025; Accepted: 06 Oct 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Song, Chen, Wang and Niu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Huimin Niu, n13933855927@163.com

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.