Ischemic Stroke Patients with Active Malignancy or Extracardiac Shunts Are More Likely to Have a Right-to-Left Shunt Found by TCD Than Echocardiogram

Although the association between patent foramen ovale and ischemic stroke is controversial, the evaluation for a right-to-left shunt remains part of the standard workup for cryptogenic stroke. Transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiogram (TTE and TEE) are the screening test and gold standard to evaluate for right-to-left shunt, respectively. Studies comparing TTE or TEE to transcranial Doppler (TCD) have shown that 15–25 % of patients test positive for right-to-left shunt on TCD but are negative on TTE or TEE. We sought to further explore this phenomenon in patients with recent ischemic stroke. Between 2011 and 2013, 109 ischemic stroke patients had both a TCD and TTE or TEE bubble study. We abstracted 12 comorbid medical conditions and stroke subtype according to the TOAST classification. The majority of TCD and TTE or TEE showed agreement on right-to-left shunt status (80/109, 73 %). Two percent (2/109) of patients were negative on TCD and positive on TTE or TEE, while 25 % (27/109) had a positive TCD and negative TTE or TEE (TCD+Echo−). The TCD+Echo− patients were more likely to have active malignancy and the delayed arrival of contrast bubbles than the remainder of the cohort (15 vs. 2 %, p = 0.032; 51 vs. 18 %, p = 0.001). Our results confirm previous reports that TCD is superior to echocardiography in the detection of right-to-left shunt. The TCD+Echo− patients were more likely to have active malignancy and findings suggestive of an extracardiac shunt. These results could lead to more comprehensive evaluation for occult malignancy or a pulmonary arteriovenous malformation, both potentially treatable etiologies of ischemic stroke.