THE ROLE OF CONTRAST ECHOCARDIOGRAPHY IN THE DIAGNOSIS OF PATENT FORAMEN OVALE IN PATIENTS WITH ISCHEMIC STROKE
Main Article Content
Abstract
Objective: To evaluate the role of contrast transthoracic echocardiography (cTTE) using self-prepared contrast compared with contrast transesophageal echocardiography (cTEE) in the diagnosis of right-to-left shunt caused by patent foramen ovale (PFO).
Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted on 51 patients admitted with ischemic stroke. All patients underwent both cTTE and cTEE using self-prepared contrast agents.
Results: PFO was detected in 17 patients (33.3%) by cTTE compared with 18 patients (35%) by cTEE (χ² = 0.5; p ≈ 1), with no statistically significant difference between the two methods. Compared with cTEE, cTTE identified 94.4% of PFO cases, indicating a high level of agreement between the two modalities (Kappa = 0.9). Moreover, cTTE showed superiority in assessing the degree of right-to-left shunt through PFO, particularly in detecting large shunts, when compared with cTEE (Z = –2.053, p = 0.04). No adverse reactions were observed during either cTTE or cTEE using self-prepared contrast.
Conclusion: cTTE with self-prepared contrast is a simple, non-invasive, and cost-effective method suitable for detecting and diagnosing PFO.
Article Details
Keywords
contrast echocardiography, patent foramen ovale, ischemic stroke
References
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