{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.03714085494043448, 'fraction_numerical': 0.015416958654519973, 'mean_word_length': 5.076595744680851, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 3, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 1, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 0, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
Transcranial Doppler-detected microemboli in patients with acute stroke.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Transcranial Doppler sonography (TCD) has been used to detect microembolic signals in a variety of clinical situations. We studied the prevalence of TCD-detected microemboli in 38 acute stroke patients.


METHODS
Consecutive patients with acute anterior circulation stroke were stratified into high-risk (group 1), medium-risk (group 2), and low-risk (group 3) groups based on their risk factors for cerebral embolism.


RESULTS
Microemboli were detected in 11% of patients. They were present in 17% of group 1, 10% of group 2, and 0% of group 3 patients. Emboli were present in patients with mechanical prosthetic valves, carotid stenosis (> 70%), and mitral valve strands with a patent foramen ovale. Patients with microemboli more frequently had a history of cerebral ischemia compared with patients without microemboli (P < .05). They also more frequently had recent (< 3 months) symptoms compared with patients without microemboli (P < .05). In patients with a cardiac source of embolization, the number of microemboli detected was directly proportional to the acuity of previous symptoms.


CONCLUSIONS
These data suggest that TCD-detected microemboli are associated with an increased prevalence of prior cerebrovascular ischemia. The presence of TCD-detected microemboli could be a risk factor for cerebrovascular ischemia.