The value of contrast-enhanced transcranial doppler in screening patients with migraine and patent foramen ovale

Objective To investigate the value of contrast-enhanced transcranial doppler (c-TCD) in the screening of patients with migraine and patent foramen ovale (PFO). Methods A total of 128 migraine patients in the Third Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University from September 2014 to September 2018 were enrolled, who were given c-TCD and transesophageal echocardiography(TEE). With TEE as the "gold standard" for PFO diagnosis, the positive rates of c-TCD and TEE were compared, and the positive predictive value, negative predictive value, sensitivity, specificity together with accuracy of c-TCD were calculated. Results There were no statistical differences in the positive rates between c-TCD and TEE(40.63% vs. 45.31%,χ²=0.574,P=0.449); the positive predictive rate of c-TCD was 96.15%, the negative predictive rate was 89.47%, the sensitivity was 86.21%, the specificity was 97.14%, the accuracy 92.19%, and the Kappa value was 0.841. Conclusion c-TCD is another effective method to diagnose patients with migraine and patent foramen ovale. c-TCD may be considered as an alternative to TEE when medical conditions are limited, or patients are reluctant to accept TEE.