journal.publications.chestnet.org 967 [ Original Research Pulmonary Vascular Disease ] Manuscript received January 12, 2014; revision accepted May 2, 2014; originally published Online First May 29, 2014. ABBREVIATIONS: ASA 5 atrial septal aneurysm; ICH 5 intracerebral hemorrhage; PE 5 pulmonary embolism; PFO 5 patent foramen ovale; TCD 5 transcranial Doppler; TEE 5 transesophageal echocardiography; TTE 5 transthoracic echocardiography AFFILIATIONS: From the Department of Cardiology (Drs Doyen, Castellani, Moceri, Chiche, Bertora, Cerboni, Chaussade, and Ferrari) and Department of Neurology (Dr Lazdunski), Pasteur University Hos- pital, Nice, France. Part of this article has been presented in abstract form at the European Society of Cardiology Congress, August 31-September 4, 2013, Amsterdam, e Netherlands. FUNDING/SUPPORT: e authors have reported to CHEST that no funding was received for this study. CORRESPONDENCE TO: Denis Doyen, MD, Department of Cardiology, Pasteur University Hospital, 30 Av de la Voie Romaine, 06002 Nice, France; e-mail: doyen.d@chu-nice.fr © 2014 AMERICAN COLLEGE OF CHEST PHYSICIANS. Reproduction of this article is prohibited without written permission from the American College of Chest Physicians. See online for more details. DOI: 10.1378/chest.14-0100 Patent Foramen Ovale and Stroke in Intermediate-Risk Pulmonary Embolism Denis Doyen, MD; Mathieu Castellani, MD; Pamela Moceri, MD; Olivier Chiche, MD; Rémi Lazdunski, MD; David Bertora, MD; Pierre Cerboni, MD; Claire Chaussade, PhD; and Emile Ferrari, MD BACKGROUND: Patent foramen ovale (PFO) in pulmonary embolism (PE) is associated with an increased risk of complications. However, little is known about PFO and ischemic stroke prev- alence, particularly in acute intermediate-risk PE. In addition, in this context, the so-called “gold standard” method of PFO diagnosis remains unknown. We aimed to evaluate PFO and ischemic stroke prevalence and determine which of transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) or transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) is the best PFO diagnostic method in this context. METHODS: We conducted a prospective monocentric study of consecutive patients with intermediate-risk PE in whom a TEE and TTE with contrast were performed. Brain MRI was used to confirm clinically obvious strokes or to diagnose subclinical ones. RESULTS: Forty-one patients with intermediate-risk PE were identified over a 9-month period. Contrast TEE revealed PFO in 56.1%, whereas contrast TTE showed PFO in only 19.5% ( P , .001). Of note, all PFOs observed with TTE were also diagnosed by TEE. Ischemic stroke occurred in 17.1% and was always associated with PFO and large shunt. CONCLUSIONS: PFO and related ischemic strokes are frequent in intermediate-risk PE. TEE is much more efficient than TTE for PFO diagnosis. Considering the high risk of intracranial bleeding with thrombolysis in PE, which may be partly due to hemorrhagic transformation of subclinical strokes, screening PFO with TEE should be considered in intermediate-risk PE when thrombolytic treatment is discussed. CHEST 2014; 146(4):967-973