Radiology
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
 QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     


Published online before print October 24, 2002, 10.1148/radiol.2253011572
This Article
Right arrow Figures Only
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
2253011572v1
225/3/693    most recent
Right arrow Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Blersch, W. K.
Right arrow Articles by Hölscher, T.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Blersch, W. K.
Right arrow Articles by Hölscher, T.
(Radiology 2002;225:693-699.)
© RSNA, 2002


Cardiac Imaging

Transcranial Duplex Sonography in the Detection of Patent Foramen Ovale1

Wendelin K. Blersch, MD, Bogdan M. Draganski, MD, Stefan R. Holmer, MD, Horst J. Koch, MD, Felix Schlachetzki, MD, Ullrich Bogdahn, MD and Thilo Hölscher, MD

1 From the Departments of Neurology (W.K.B., B.M.D., F.S., T.H., U.B.), Cardiology (S.R.H.), and Psychiatry (H.J.K.), University of Regensburg, Universitätsstrasse 84, 93053 Regensburg, Germany. Received September 24, 2001; revision requested November 21; final revision received May 7, 2002; accepted May 16. Address correspondence to W.K.B. (e-mail: wendelin.blersch@klinik.uni-regensburg.de).

PURPOSE: To determine the sensitivity of contrast material–enhanced transcranial color-coded sonography (c-TCCS) compared with that of contrast-enhanced transesophageal echocardiography (c-TEE) for detection of cardiac right-to-left shunt.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty consecutive patients with stroke or transient ischemic attack were admitted to the hospital and were examined by using c-TCCS and c-TEE. High-intensity transient signals (HITS) were counted for 25 seconds after the end of the Valsalva maneuver, and the numbers of HITS were classified in one of four categories (zero HITS, one to 10 HITS, >10 HITS without curtain, and curtain). A statistically significant difference was calculated with the Fisher exact test.

RESULTS: HITS were counted in 21 (52%) patients by using c-TCCS and c-TEE. With both tests, no HITS were counted in 15 (38%) patients. In two (5%) patients, no HITS were counted with c-TEE but three HITS in one patient and five HITS in the other were counted with c-TCCS. In two (5%) patients, no HITS were counted with c-TCCS, but a small patent foramen ovale (PFO) was seen at c-TEE. With c-TCCS, the sensitivity was 91% (21 of 23) and the specificity was 88% (15 of 17). In 23 patients examined with c-TCCS, 14 (61%) patients had category 1 PFO; seven (30%) patients, category 2 PFO; and two (9%) patients, category 3 PFO. Mean HITS count in patients with category 1 PFO was 4.4 and that for those with category 2 PFO was 27.6.

CONCLUSION: c-TCCS is a sensitive noninvasive method for detecting cardiac right-to-left shunt and is as sensitive as c-TEE.

© RSNA, 2002

Index terms: Brain, infarction, 10.78 • Brain, US, 10.1298, 10.12988, 10.12989 • Heart, diseases, 514.1411 • Heart, US, 50.1298, 50.12988, 50.12989 • Ultrasound (US), contrast media, 10.12988




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
Postgrad. Med. J.Home page
S. Ghosh, A. K. Ghosh, and S. K. Ghosh
Patent foramen ovale and atrial septal aneurysm in cryptogenic stroke
Postgrad. Med. J., March 1, 2007; 83(977): 173 - 177.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Eur J EchocardiogrHome page
G. Souteyrand, P. Motreff, J.-R. Lusson, R. Rodriguez, E. Geoffroy, C. Dauphin, J.-Y. Boire, D. Lamaison, and J. Cassagnes
Comparison of transthoracic echocardiography using second harmonic imaging, transcranial Doppler and transesophageal echocardiography for the detection of patent foramen ovale in stroke patients
Eur J Echocardiogr, March 1, 2006; 7(2): 147 - 154.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
J Am Coll CardiolHome page
H. Hara, R. Virmani, E. Ladich, S. Mackey-Bojack, J. Titus, M. Reisman, W. Gray, M. Nakamura, M. Mooney, A. Poulose, et al.
Patent Foramen Ovale: Current Pathology, Pathophysiology, and Clinical Status
J. Am. Coll. Cardiol., November 1, 2005; 46(9): 1768 - 1776.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
HeartHome page
F J Pinto
When and how to diagnose patent foramen ovale
Heart, April 1, 2005; 91(4): 438 - 440.
[Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Arch Intern MedHome page
L. A. Wu, J. F. Malouf, J. A. Dearani, D. J. Hagler, G. S. Reeder, G. W. Petty, and B. K. Khandheria
Patent Foramen Ovale in Cryptogenic Stroke: Current Understanding and Management Options
Arch Intern Med, May 10, 2004; 164(9): 950 - 956.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]




HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
RADIOLOGY RADIOGRAPHICS RSNA JOURNALS ONLINE
Copyright © 2002 by the Radiological Society of North America.