Transesophageal echocardiography and transcranial color Doppler: independent or complementary diagnostic tests for cardiologists in the detection of patent foramen ovale?

Background and purposeContrast-enhanced transesophageal echocardiography (c-TEE) is considered the gold standard for the diagnosis of patent foramen ovale. The purpose of this study was to compare the practical use of contrast-enhanced transcranial color Doppler (c-TCD) to define its role in the dia