scholarly journals The Efficacy of Contrast Transthoracic Echocardiography and Contrast Transcranial Doppler for the Detection of Patent Foramen Ovale Related to Cryptogenic Stroke

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Jing Yang ◽  
Huiqin Zhang ◽  
Yumeng Wang ◽  
Shiquan Zhang ◽  
Tingyu Lan ◽  
...  

Background. Patent foramen ovale (PFO) has been linked to the pathophysiology of cryptogenic stroke. Contrast transesophageal echocardiography (cTEE) is the current gold standard for PFO diagnosis, but it has the disadvantage of being semi-invasive and does not exempt from risks. As a diagnostic test, the efficacy of contrast transthoracic echocardiography (cTTE) and contrast transcranial Doppler (cTCD) is controversial. This study is aimed at investigating the efficacy of cTTE and cTCD versus cTEE in PFO detection, exploring a more cost-effective and reliable method for the diagnosis of PFO related to cryptogenic stroke. Methods. From August 2019 to January 2020, a total of 213 patients with suspected PFO were included in our study. All patients underwent cTEE, cTCD, and cTTE examinations. cTTE3 was named for using a cutoff of 3 beats to detect PFO during cTTE, and cTTE5 represented a cutoff of 5 beats. A cutoff of cTCD grade III was named cTCD III. A cutoff of grade IV was named cTCD IV. cTTE3+cTCD IV was used for the combination of a cutoff of 3 beats during cTTE with grade IV of cTCD. cTTE5+cTCD III combined a cutoff of 5 beats during cTTE with cTCD grade III. Taking cTEE as the gold standard, we compared the sensitivity, specificity, negative likelihood ratio (-LR), and misdiagnosis rate for PFO detection among the above methods. Results. A total of 161 of 213 (76%) patients had PFO confirmed by cTEE. With the spontaneous Valsalva maneuver, the sensitivity, specificity, negative likelihood ratio (-LR), and misdiagnosis rate of cTTE3 in PFO diagnosis were 60%, 90%, 44%, and 10%, respectively, and those for cTTE5 were 76%, 78%, 31% and 22%, respectively. The sensitivity, specificity, negative likelihood ratio (-LR), and misdiagnosis rate of cTCD III were 80%, 71%, 29%, and 29%, respectively, while those for cTCD IV were 55%, 90%, 49%, and 10%, respectively. When cTTE and cTCD were combined to diagnose PFO, the specificity and misdiagnosis rate were significantly improved, especially cTTE3+cTCD IV, with 100% specificity and a misdiagnosis rate of 0. Conclusion. cTTE or cTCD can be used for preliminary PFO related to cryptogenic stroke findings. The combination of the two methods can improve the specificity of PFO diagnosis, especially using the cutoff of cTTE3+cTCD IV.

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.


Author(s):  
Xiaoxuan Guo ◽  
Xiaojuan Wang ◽  
Lu Zhang ◽  
Yan Zhang ◽  
Rui Peng ◽  
...  

Background: Foramen ovale is a residual cavity in the developing heart in the fetus. At present, the standard methods for the diagnosis of PFO-right-to-left-shunting (PFO-RLS) include transesophageal echocardiography (TEE), contrast-transcranial Doppler echocardiography (C-TCD), and contrast-transthoracic echocardiography (C-TTE), each of them having its advantages and disadvantages.However, there are no data allowing the comparison of these three methods. Methods: We systematically reviewed all published studies on patients with cryptogenic cerebral ischemia. The sensitivity, specificity, and other indexes of C-TCD and C-TTE in the diagnosis of PFO-RLS were calculated using the Stata 16.0 software. The area under the summary receiver operating curve(SROC) was calculated. Results: Twenty-five 25 controlled studies involving a total of 2282 patients were analyzed. There was considerable heterogeneity between C-TCD and C-TTE sensitivity and specificity among the studies. The combined sensitivity and specificity of C-TCD and C-TTE were 0.95 (95%CI, 0.93-0.97) and 0.86(95%CI, 0.78-0.91), and 0.88 (95%CI, 0.69-0.96) and 0.99 (95%CI, 0.67-1.00). The positive likelihood ratio and negative likelihood ratio of C-TCD and C-TTE were 6.81 (95%CI, 4.42-10.48) and 0.05 (95%CI, 0.03-0.08), and 82.31(95%CI, 2.03-3341.00) and 0.12 (95%CI, 0.04-0.34). The areas under the SROC for C-TCD and C-TTE were 0.97 (95%CI, 0.95–0.98) and 0.98 (95%CI, 0.96–0.99), respectively, and were not significantly different by the Z test (z=-0.17, p=0.86). Conclusion: C-TCD and C-TTE have advantages in diagnosing PFO-RTL. The combination of C-TCD and C-TTE improves the detection rate and reduces the misdiagnosis rate. Key words: patent foramen ovale, cryptogenic cerebral ischemia, contrast-transthoracic echocardiography, contrast-transthoracic echocardiography


Stroke ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 47 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Georgios Tsivgoulis ◽  
Aristeidis H Katsanos ◽  
Theodora Psaltopoulou ◽  
Theodoros Sergentanis ◽  
Alexandra Frogoudaki ◽  
...  

Background & Purpose: Patent foramen ovale (PFO) can be detected in up to 43% of patients with cryptogenic cerebral ischemia undergoing investigation with transesophageal echocardiography (TEE). The diagnostic value of transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) in the detection of PFO in patients with cryptogenic cerebral ischemia has not been compared with that of transcranial Doppler (TCD) using a comprehensive meta-analytical approach. Methods: We performed a systematic literature review according to PRISMA guidelines to identify all prospective observational studies of patients with cryptogenic cerebral ischemia that provided both sensitivity and specificity measures of TTE, TCD or both compared to the gold standard of TEE. Results: Our literature search identified 35 eligible studies including 3067 patients. The summary sensitivity and specificity for TCD was 96.1% (95% confidence interval: 93.0%-97.8%) and 92.4% (95%CI: 85.5%-96.1%), whereas the respective measures for TTE were 45.1% (95%CI: 30.8-60.3%) and 99.6% (95%CI: 96.5-99.9%). The summary diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) for TCD (DOR=297.97, 95%CI: 131.18-676.83) and TTE (DOR=193.44, 95%CI: 30.38-1231.67) did not significantly differ (z-value=0.418, p=0.676). TTE was superior in terms of higher positive likelihood ratio values (LR+= 106.61, 95%CI: 15.09-753.30 for TTE vs. LR+=12.62, 95%CI: 6.52-24.43 for TCD; p=0.043), while TCD yielded lower negative positive likelihood values (LR- = 0.04, 95%CI: 0.02-0.08) compared to TTE (LR- =0.55, 95%CI: 0.42-0.72; p<0.001). Finally, the area under the summary receiver operating curve was significantly greater (p<0.001) in TCD (AUC=0.98, 95%CI: 0.97-0.99; Figure A) compared to TTE studies (AUC=0.86, 95%CI: 0.82-0.89; Figure B). Conclusions: TCD is more sensitive but less specific compared to TTE for the detection of PFO in patients with cryptogenic cerebral ischemia. The overall diagnostic yield of TCD appears to outweigh that of TTE.


Stroke ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 50 (Suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Seongho Park ◽  
Jin Kyung Oh ◽  
Jae-Kwan Song ◽  
Boseong Kwon ◽  
Jong S. Kim ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seongho Park ◽  
Jin Kyung Oh ◽  
Jae‐Kwan Song ◽  
Boseong Kwon ◽  
Bum Joon Kim ◽  
...  

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):  
Yoichi Takaya ◽  
Rie Nakayama ◽  
Teiji Akagi ◽  
Fumi Yokohama ◽  
Takashi Miki ◽  
...  

Abstract Transcatheter closure of patent foramen ovale (PFO) is an effective therapy for preventing cryptogenic stroke (CS). The identification of high-risk PFO, which is more likely to be linked to CS, is essential. This study aimed to assess the accuracy of contrast transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) for evaluating large right-to-left (RL) shunt. We enrolled 119 patients with or without CS who were confirmed to have PFO. The severity of RL shunt evaluated by contrast TTE and transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) was classified as follows: small (<10 microbubbles), moderate (10–20 microbubbles), and large (>20 microbubbles). With contrast TTE, large RL shunt was observed in 94 (79%) of 119 patients, including 66 of 74 with CS and 28 of 45 without CS. With contrast TEE, large RL shunt was observed in 33 (28%) patients, including 26 with CS and 7 without CS. Contrast TTE showed large RL shunt more frequently than contrast TEE (p < 0.01). Large RL shunt evaluated by contrast TTE had a sensitivity of 89% and an accuracy of 70% for the association with CS, whereas large RL shunt evaluated by contrast TEE had a sensitivity of 35% and an accuracy of 56%. Accuracy was significantly greater in contrast TTE than in contrast TEE (p = 0.02). In conclusion, contrast TTE identified large RL shunt more frequently. Large RL shunt evaluated by contrast TTE provided greater accuracy for the association with CS. Our findings suggest that contrast TTE is valuable for evaluating large RL shunt as high-risk PFO.


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