Over 50% of people who rapidly ascend to extreme altitudes develop various symptoms known as acute mountain sickness (AMS), which rarely can be life threatening. It is unclear why some people are more susceptible to AMS than others. Our objective was to determine whether patent foramen ovale (PFO) is a risk factor for AMS. Subjects who had hiked to altitudes above 10,000' (~3,000 meters) on the John Muir Trail in California were recruited. Participants completed a questionnaire and two-physician adjudication was performed in regard to AMS status. A transcranial Doppler with agitated saline contrast injection was performed to evaluate the presence or absence of PFO. The primary outcome was the development of AMS. From 2016 to 2018, 137 hikers were recruited into the study. There was a higher prevalence of PFO in hikers with AMS 15/24 (63%) compared to hikers without AMS 44/113 (39%); p = 0.034. In the multivariate model, the presence of a PFO significantly increased the risk for developing AMS: OR 4.15, 95% CI 1.14-15.05; p = 0.030. In conclusion, hikers with a PFO had significantly higher risk of developing AMS relative to hikers without a PFO. Clinicians should consider PFO a risk factor in people who plan to hike to high altitudes.

Background: Patent foramen ovale (PFO) is implicated in the pathogenesis of clinical conditions such as cryptogenic stroke and migraine with aura. This study evaluated the challenges of sizing a PFO with different contemporary imaging modalities and assessed the relationship between PFO size and severity of the right-to-left shunt (RLS). Methods: Patients who were referred to interventional cardiology with the diagnosis of a PFO and had undergone intra-procedural balloon sizing (n = 147), transesophageal echocardiogram (TEE) imaging (n = 67), or intracardiac echocardiogram (ICE) imaging (n = 73) at the time of workup were included in this study. TEE and ICE were used to obtain PFO length and height during normal respiration. A sizing balloon was used to obtain PFO width and height after the septum primum was opened with balloon inflation. Results: The mean PFO length measured by TEE and ICE differed significantly (n = 27, 13.0 ± 4.1 vs. 9.9 ± 3.2 mm, p = .001). The mean PFO height measured by TEE and ICE (n = 27, 1.4 ± 0.6 vs. 1.7 ± 0.6 mm, p = .04), TEE and sizing balloon (n = 56, 1.5 ± 1.2 vs. 10.5 ± 4.2 mm, p < .0001), and ICE and sizing balloon (n = 66, 1.7 ± 0.7 vs. 9.1 ± 3.7 mm, p < .0001) also differed significantly. A poor correlation existed between anatomic PFO length or height and functional Spencer TCD grade RLS flow with Valsalva, irrespective of the imaging modality used. Conclusions: The determination of a PFO size is dependent on the imaging modality used. Sizing balloon demonstrates a larger width or height than ultrasound imaging methods, such as TEE and ICE, because a PFO remains closed most of the time, leading the echocardiogram to underestimate the potential PFO size. Additionally, PFO length and height correlate poorly with the functional RLS grade. These findings imply that ultrasound-based size characterization should not be used to determine whether a PFO should be closed.

Objectives To compare residual shunt rate and complications associated with six different devices used for PFO closure. Background Transcutaneous PFO closure is an effective treatment for preventing recurrent stroke in patients with a history of cryptogenic stroke. The rate of residual shunt is one metric by which the technical success of PFO closure can be measured. Methods Patients who underwent PFO closure at a single center between February 2001 and July 2019 were retrospectively enrolled in the study. Right‐to‐left shunt at baseline and during follow‐up was assessed using transcranial Doppler (TCD) or transthoracic echocardiography (TTE). Periprocedural and device‐related complications, including atrial fibrillation, were also assessed. Results Of 467 PFO closures performed during this period, 320 patients received quantitative assessment of right‐to‐left shunting both before and after percutaneous closure. The highest effective closure was achieved with the Cardioform device (100%, n = 104), followed by the Amplatzer Cribriform (93%, n = 14), Helex (90%, n = 137), Amplatzer ASO (88%, n = 17), CardioSEAL (86%, n = 14), and Amplatzer PFO (85%, n = 33) devices. The most common significant adverse event was atrial fibrillation, which was more common with the Cardioform device (13%) than the Helex (4%) or the Amplatzer PFO (4%) devices. Conclusions The Gore Cardioform Septal Occluder provides more robust closure of a PFO when compared to other devices but its effectiveness is offset by the higher prevalence of transient atrial fibrillation.

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Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare tumor with a high risk of recurrence after definitive therapy; however, the optimal duration of surveillance is unclear. First recurrences typically occur within 3 years. National guidelines recommend that patients undergo physical examination and imaging for surveillance during this time period. However, the duration of surveillance beyond this is not defined. Here, we describe a case of a patient developing a recurrence of MCC 7 years after the primary diagnosis with interval in-transit and regional lymph node metastases 15 months following the treatment of the primary MCC. Such late recurrences are rare, largely not reported, and the risk factors contributing to late recurrences are not well described. This case highlights the possibility of late recurrences of MCC after an initial in-transit and nodal recurrence and underscores the importance of identifying predictors of recurrence that may better guide the duration of surveillance.