Valdueza JM, Schreiber SJ, Roehl J-E, Connolly F, Klingebiel R. Neurosonology and Neuroimaging of Stroke: A Comprehensive Reference. 2nd ed. Thieme; 2017; 768 pp; 1305 ill; $224.99
Neurosonology and Neuroimaging of Stroke, written by 4 neurologists and 1 neuroradiologist, is an exhaustive review of stroke imaging, with a special emphasis on vascular ultrasound. As stated in the preface, it is based on the combined teaching experience gained by the authors over the last 15 years.
The book is divided in 2 parts. “Part A: Principles and Rules,” the first third of the book, is dedicated to basic ultrasound principles, with a focus on ultrasound vascular anatomy, blood flow hemodynamics, stroke pathogenesis, and a comprehensive presentation of intracranial and extracranial vascular pathology. It ends with an overview of current neuroradiologic vascular imaging techniques such as DSA, MRA, and CTA. In each chapter, schematic diagrams, pictures, and multimodality images, which are thoughtfully labeled and adequately described, beautifully depict the subject matter. The supplemental online material includes high-quality videos that illustrate both arterial and venous ultrasound examinations.
“Part B: Case Histories” is a collection of 45 cases, each of which is presented in the same format: a case presentation, initial neuroradiologic findings, suspected diagnosis, questions to answer, initial neurosonologic findings, clinical course, final diagnosis, and discussion. The cases range from commonly encountered entities such as atherosclerotic disease, to rarer and more elusive diagnoses such as arteriovenous dural fistula, postpartum angiopathy, and diffuse cerebral angiomatosis. Each case is accompanied by high-resolution ultrasound images, which are exquisitely correlated to other cross-sectional modalities and are well-annotated. Finally, the discussions are well-written and thorough, with a strong emphasis on clinical management.
In the authors’ own words, this book is aimed at all doctors—in particular at neurologists, neurosurgeons, internists, angiologists, and neuroradiologists who treat neurologic or neurosurgical patients with vascular diseases.
For the budding neuroradiologist, this book seems like an overwhelming quantity of information for just 1 subject within our challenging and ever-growing subspecialty. Furthermore, in some practice settings, particularly in large academic centers, sonographic examinations are not interpreted by dedicated neuroradiologists and are rather performed by other subspecialties. Therefore, unless one is interested in becoming directly involved with extracranial or intracranial vascular ultrasound, this book may be too subspecialized.
However, for the seasoned neuroradiologist, this book serves to broaden knowledge of both the imaging and clinical aspects of cerebral ischemia, which is such an important part of our daily practice. Although some may argue that this book is too clinically oriented to be of use to radiologists, I believe it has an important place in the library of any neuroimaging specialist, particularly in a world where radiologists should strive to become an integral part of the multidisciplinary team in order to provide the best clinical care to our patients.
In summary, this is a comprehensive, well-structured, and exquisitely illustrated book that I would recommend as a valuable reference to any physician who is involved in stroke diagnosis and management.
