Right-to-left-shunt detected by c-TCD using the orbital window in comparison with temporal bone windows.

PURPOSE: There have been some reports on right-to-left shunt as a cause of cryptogenic stroke. Although contrast transcranial Doppler (c-TCD) can detect RLS, an insufficient temporal window has occasionally restricted its applicability. Thus, we compared the rates of detecting RLS among temporal windows for the middle cerebral arteries (MCAs) and the orbital window for the internal carotid artery (ICA) on c-TCD. METHODS: We used c-TCD to detect RLS in patients with suspected ischemic stroke. We enrolled patients who had both sufficient bilateral temporal windows for MCAs and a right orbital window for ICA and performed c-TCD using all three windows simultaneously. RESULTS: We enrolled 106 consecutive patients and identified microembolic signals (MES) in 30 (28%) of them. Among these 30 patients, 15 had MES from all 3 windows. When these 30 patients were defined as being positive for RLS, the rates of detection were 67%, 73%, and 80% from the right temporal, left temporal, and right orbital windows, respectively (P= .795). CONCLUSION: The right orbital window as well as the temporal window for c-TCD could detect RLS. Insonation from the orbital window should be useful for patients who lack temporal windows.

Contrast transcranial Doppler can diagnose large patent foramen ovale.

BACKGROUND: Contrast transesophageal echocardiography (c-TEE) and contrast transcranial Doppler (c-TCD) are useful diagnostic tools for detecting right-to-left shunts (RLS). However, the diagnostic accuracy of c-TCD for patent foramen ovale (PFO) remains uncertain. We investigated the relationship between the size of PFO determined by c-TEE and c-TCD findings and assessed the detectable rate of RLS by c-TCD. METHODS: We assessed RLS three times using simultaneous c-TCD and c-TEE in 107 patients (321 examinations). We classified all of ultrasound examinations into three groups by size according to microbubbles on c-TEE, such as no PFO (0 microbubble), small PFO (1-29 microbubbles) and large PFO (>or=30 microbubbles). We also calculated the number of microembolic signals (MES) on c-TCD and evaluated the association between PFO size on c-TEE and MES count on c-TCD. RESULTS: In the present study, c-TEE detected RLS in 105 (33%; small PFO, n = 78; large PFO, n = 27), and c-TCD detected RLS in 49 (15%) of 321 examinations. Among 78 examinations with small PFO, MES were found in only 19 (24%) on c-TCD. In contrast, of all 27 examinations with large PFO, MES were found on c-TCD. Also, c-TCD were able to detect MES in 3 of 216 examinations among the no-PFO group. When >or=2 MES on c-TCD was established as the cutoff to predict large PFO on c-TEE, the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy were 96.3, 96.8, and 96.9%, respectively. CONCLUSION: When two or more MES were determined by c-TCD, large PFO could be accurately diagnosed.

[Orolingual angioedema as complication after rt-PA in stroke patient treated with ACE inhibitor].

A 75-year-old right-handed woman was admitted to our hospital because of sudden onset of consciousness disturbance. She had taken angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor for hypertension. A neurological examination showed consciousness disturbance, total aphasia, right central facial palsy and right hemiparesis. Diffusion-weighted imaging revealed hyper-intense lesions in the middle cerebral artery territory, particularly in the insular cortex. Magnetic resonance angiography demonstrated occlusion of the left middle cerebral artery. Electrocardiogram monitoring during hospitalization detected an atrial fibrillation. Therefore, we diagnosed her as cardioembolic stroke. She was treated with intravenous alteplase of 0.6 mg/kg. Sixty minutes after alteplase infusion, she developed orolingual angioedema. Immediately she was treated with methylprednisolone intravenously, and the angioedema improved. Orolingual angioedema should be considered as a complication associated with alteplase in a patient who has taking ACE inhibitor.