Echocardiography in the detection of cardioembolism in a stroke population

Transcranial Doppler versus transthoracic echocardiography for the detection of patent foramen ovale in patients with cryptogenic cerebral ischemia: A systematic review and diagnostic test accuracy meta‐analysis

“…Potentially eligible studies for the meta‐analysis (n = 43) were retained, after screening both the titles and abstracts of all studies. After retrieving the full‐text version of the aforementioned 43 studies, 8 studies were excluded because they were retrospective cohort studies, included mixed population (non‐IS/TIA patients as the majority of study population), or evaluated exclusively nonstroke patients . The remaining 35 studies, comprising 3,067 total patients (89.7% with cryptogenic IS/TIA, mean age = 50 years, 57.3% males), were included in both the qualitative and quantitative synthesis (Fig ).…”

Acute ischaemic stroke or transient ischaemic attack and the need for inpatient echocardiography

“…The following findings were considered potential clinically relevant findings on TTE and TOE: dilated cardiomyopathy, ejection fraction ≤35% or qualitatively severe as per echocardiographer's opinion, vegetation, definite or possible left atrial or left ventricular thrombus, and left atrial or left ventricular myxoma/tumours 5 8. We did not include a patent foramen ovale, atrial septal aneurysm, atrial or ventricular septal defect, mitral valve prolapse, mitral annular calcification or aortic arch atheroma as potential clinically relevant findings on TTE or TOE, because these findings do not usually change management in our practice 8.…”

The diagnostic efficiency of transesophageal compared to transthoracic echocardiographic findings from 405 patients with ischemic stroke

“…14 Most of the studies that compared TEE and TTE did not use TOAST criteria to classify and determine the evidence level of the proposed sources of stroke. [15][16][17] In a retrospective study that used CCS-TOAST criteria to classify the etiology of stroke the authors found that TEE abnormalities, although present in 71% of patients, changed the treatment in only 3% of patients. 18 The ambiguity regarding some of the TEE findings, such as isolated PFO or ASA and simple AA as causes of stroke, the low prevalence of high-risk cardio-aortic sources of embolism detected only by TEE, and the combination of these high-risk sources with other abnormalities that were obvious on TTE and electrocardiograms, raise questions about the usefulness of performing TEE in all patients with stroke.…”