Key result
Transcranial Doppler ultrasound (TCD) successfully detected microemboli indicating a major valvular thrombus that was not visualized on standard echocardiography.
Why the study?
Does transcranial Doppler ultrasound detect microemboli and valvular thrombi missed by echocardiography in patients with structural cardiac disease?
Case Report
Does transcranial Doppler ultrasound detect microemboli and valvular thrombi missed by echocardiography in patients with structural cardiac disease?
Transcranial Doppler ultrasound may be a sensitive tool for detecting microemboli and underlying valvular thrombi that are missed by standard echocardiography.
May complement echocardiography for occult thrombi in structural heart disease; leaves open validation and outcome impact in prospective studies.
Cardiac structural disorders can be detected noninvasively with echocardiography or cardiac MRI. Neither of these techniques, however, visualizes emboli, although thrombi can often be seen on valves or walls. Transcranial Doppler ultrasound (TCD) has been shown to be exquisitely sensitive at detecting microemboli, which may be a harbinger of impending macroembolization resulting in stroke.1,2 This report demonstrates the presence of a major valvular thrombus not visualized on echocardiography, but detected by TCD microemboli detection.
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Shafie et al. (2017) conducted a case report in Structural cardiac disease. Transcranial Doppler ultrasound (TCD) vs. Echocardiography was evaluated on Detection of major valvular thrombus. Transcranial Doppler ultrasound (TCD) successfully detected microemboli indicating a major valvular thrombus that was not visualized on standard echocardiography.
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