scholarly journals Paradoxical emboli: Clinical importance of transcranial doppler for detection of patent foramen ovale

2010 ◽  
Vol 63 (7-8) ◽  
pp. 445-449
Author(s):  
Zeljko Zivanovic ◽  
Svetlana Ruzicka-Kaloci ◽  
Aleksandar Jesic ◽  
Biljana Radovanovic ◽  
Aleksandra Lucic-Prokin ◽  
...  

A patent foramen ovale has been reported to be more frequently detected in cryptogenic stroke, with paradoxical embolism as the major pathogenetic mechanism. The standard procedure for the detection of a patent foramen ovale is transesophageal echo?cardiography. Transcranial Doppler sonography with bubble test is almost as reliable as transesophageal echocardiography. Seventeen patients with acute ischemic stroke and transient ischemic attacks hospitalized at the Department of Neurology in Novi Sad underwent examinations to detect a patent foramen ovale, which was found in 55.6% of patients with cryptogenic stroke. The average age of these patients was 30.6 years. Transcranial Doppler sonography showed 100% sensitivity and 100% specificity for the predicti?on of right-to-left shunts proven by transesophageal contrast echocardiography. Both positive and negative predictive values in our group of patients were 1. Transcranial Doppler with bubble test is a reliable method for the detection of a patent foramen ovale, with a high level of sensitivity and specificity which is comparable with transesophageal echocardiography. Moreover, it is cheaper and more comfortable than transesophageal echocardiography, and should be used routinely in neurological practice.

2018 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 127-133
Author(s):  
Madison B. Stafford ◽  
Jennifer E. Bagley ◽  
Dora DiGiacinto

The correlation between cryptogenic stroke and patent foramen ovale is high in young patients. Currently, transesophageal echocardiography is the gold standard for detection. However, it is invasive and limits Valsalva maneuvers. This article reviews the diagnostic accuracy of the three modalities: transthoracic echocardiography, transesophageal echocardiography, and transcranial Doppler. The results suggest that transcranial Doppler sonography is an accurate, easily accessible procedure for detecting patent foramen ovale and should be considered an excellent alternative to transthoracic or transesophageal echocardiography. Transesophageal echocardiography is still necessary for patients who require treatment. The combination of transcranial Doppler and transesophageal echocardiography provides the highest level of information regarding the complete diagnosis of patent foramen ovales.


Cephalalgia ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 26 (8) ◽  
pp. 934-939 ◽  
Author(s):  
FJ Carod-Artal ◽  
L da Silveira Ribeiro ◽  
H Braga ◽  
W Kummer ◽  
HM Mesquita ◽  
...  

The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of patent foramen ovale (PFO) in a consecutive unselected cohort of migraine patients (with and without aura) and compare it with a group of ischaemic young and elderly stroke patients. One hundred and forty-one migraine patients were compared with 330 stroke patients (130 young patients; 200 elderly patients) selected from our hospital stroke data bank. PFO was assessed with transcranial Doppler sonography with i.v. injection of agitated saline. The prevalence of PFO was 51.7± in migraine with aura (MA) patients, 33.7± in migraine without aura (MoA) patients, 33.8± in young stroke patients and 20.5± in elderly stroke patients ( P < 0.001). The prevalence of PFO in cryptogenic stroke in young and elderly stroke patients was, respectively, 41.1± and 25± ( P = 0.04). The difference between MA and MoA patients was significant (odds ratio = 2.1). The prevalence of PFO in MA patients is higher than in MoA patients and in young cryptogenic stroke patients.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhiming Li ◽  
Shunli Liu ◽  
Tingfei Yan ◽  
Yabin Hu ◽  
Chuanyu Zhang ◽  
...  

Abstract Purpose: To investigate the clinical feasibility of diagnosing and classifying patent foramen ovale (PFO) in patients with cerebral disorders by cardiac cine MRI (CCMRI) without contrast.Materials and Methods: Forty-four patients (24 males and 20 females; mean age, 41.3 years; range, 21–64 years) with cerebral disorders underwent contrast transcranial Doppler sonography (cTCD) and non-enhanced CCMRI examinations between October 2019 and March 2020. CCMRI was performed with a 3.0T magnetic resonance (MR) scanner using the OBL FIESTA CINE 4CH sequence. The scanning direction was perpendicular to the interatrial septum (IAS). The obtained MR images were analyzed by AW station 4.4. Pseudo-color coding was performed based on the different phases. The blood shunt condition was observed and recorded, noting the PFO length and width and whether it was complicated by IAS aneurysm or secondary septum thickening.Results: Thirty-nine of the 44 patients with cerebral disorders were confirmed to have right-to-left shunt by cTCD, and 37 of them were diagnosed with PFO by CCMRI. Two of the five remaining patients were also diagnosed with PFO by CCMRI. Compared with cTCD as a standard, CCMRI assessment resulted in the following: sensitivity, 94.9%; specificity, 60.0%; accuracy, 90.9%; positive predictive value, 94.9%; negative predictive value, 60.0%; area under the curve, 0.774. Using pseudo-color coding, a right-to-left color jet was observed in 34 patients, and a two-way shunt was found in five. IAS aneurysm and secondary septum thickening were found in five and three patients (11.4% and 6.8%), respectively. The maximum PFO diameters ranged from 1.7 to 16.8 mm, and the mean diameter was 5.4 ± 3.4 mm.Conclusion: The noninvasive CCMRI without contrast proved an excellent method for PFO identification, evaluation, and classification, with high sensibility (92.85%) and concordance (90.9%) compared to cTCD.


1996 ◽  
Vol XXVIII (3-4) ◽  
pp. 23-25
Author(s):  
М. Salaschek ◽  
R. Winkel

In patients with cerebral ischemia of unknown origin, paradoxical embolism must be considered as one of the possible causes, if there is an abnormal right-to- left shunt. The most likely site of transmission is a persisting patent foramen ovale (PFO), which is found in approximately 30% of adult persons in autopsy studies. Using transcranial Doppler sonography (TCD) and an agitated saline solution as an inexpensive and readily available contrast medium, probably all clinically important right-to-left shunts can be detected. In our department we examined 215 patients within the last 5 years, 30% of which had an abnormal right-to-left shunt with insignificant difference between 10 and 69 years of age.


Circulation ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 116 (suppl_16) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alfonso Sestito ◽  
Pasquale Santangeli ◽  
Priscilla Lamendola ◽  
Fabio Pilato ◽  
Christian Colizzi ◽  
...  

Background. In ≈ 40% of patients with acute ischemic stroke, the cause remains undefined (cryptogenic stroke). Previous studies, using contrast echocardiography, showed a significant prevalence of a patent foramen ovale (PFO) in patients with cryptogenic stroke < 55 years of age, suggesting a causal role through paradoxical embolism. Contrast transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) is considered the gold standard for PFO detection. Recently, however, cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) was also shown to reliably detect PFO. In this study we compared the accuracy of CMR and TEE in detecting PFO in a group of patients with cryptogenic stroke. Methods and Results . Sixteen patients (age 50 ± 13 years, 9 males) with cryptogenic ischemic stroke underwent contrast-enhanced TEE and contrast CMR for detection of possible PFO. Both imaging studies were performed during Valsalva maneuver. PFO grading results were assessed visually both for TEE and CMR, according to the entity of contrast passage in the left atrium (grade 0 = no PFO; grades 1, 2 and 3 = mild, medium and wide PFO, respectively). Nine patients (56%) were identified to have a PFO by contrast TEE. Contrast-enhanced CMR identified a PFO in only 5 (56%) of these patients. None of the 7 patients without PFO at TEE was shown to have a PFO at CMR. TEE showed a grade 1 PFO in 4 patients, a grade 2 PFO in 3 and a grade 3 PFO in 2 patients. Of these patients, CMR failed to identify PFO in all patients with a grade 1 PFO at TEE and underestimated the degree of the shunt in the other patients. Conclusions. Our data suggest that TEE should be considered the non-invasive diagnostic reference test to detect and characterize PFO in patients with ischemic cryptogenic stroke.


1995 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 194-198 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Paolo Anzola ◽  
E. Renaldini ◽  
M. Magoni ◽  
A. Costa ◽  
M. Cobelli ◽  
...  

2015 ◽  
Vol 40 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 52-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin S. Wessler ◽  
David M. Kent ◽  
David E. Thaler ◽  
Robin Ruthazer ◽  
Jennifer S. Lutz ◽  
...  

Background: For patients with cryptogenic stroke (CS) and patent foramen ovale (PFO), it is unknown whether the magnitude of right-to-left shunt (RLSh) measured by contrast transcranial Doppler (c-TCD) is correlated with the likelihood an identified PFO is related to CS as determined by the Risk of Paradoxical Embolism (RoPE) score. Additionally, for patients with CS, it is unknown whether PFO assessment by c-TCD is more sensitive for identifying RLSh compared with transesophageal echocardiography (TEE). Our aim was to determine the significance of RLSh grade by c-TCD in patients with PFO and CS. Methods: We evaluated patients with CS who had RLSh quantified by c-TCD in the Multicenter Study into RLSh in Cryptogenic Stroke (CODICIA) to determine whether there is an association between c-TCD shunt grade and the RoPE Score. For patients who underwent c-TCD and TEE, we determined whether there is agreement in identifying and grading RLSh between these two modalities. Results: The RoPE score predicted the presence versus the absence of RLSh documented by c-TCD (c-statistic = 0.66). For patients with documented RLSh by c-TCD, shunt severity was correlated with increasing RoPE score (rank correlation (r) = 0.15, p = 0.01). Among 293 patients who had both c-TCD and TEE performed, c-TCD was more sensitive (98.7%) for detecting RLSh. Of the 97 patients with no PFO identified on TEE, 28 (29%) had a large amount of RLSh seen on c-TCD. Conclusions: For patients with CS, severity of RLSh by c-TCD is positively correlated with the RoPE score, indicating that this technique for shunt grading identifies patients more likely to have pathogenic rather than incidental PFOs. c-TCD is also more sensitive in detecting RLSh than TEE. These findings suggest an important role for c-TCD in the evaluation of PFO in the setting of CS.


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