ABSTRACT
Objective:To investigate the correlation between right-to-left shunt (RLS) and infarct pattern in patients with cryptogenic stroke.Methods:Young and middle-aged patients with acute cryptogenic stroke admitted to the Department of Neurology, Xiaogan Central Hospital from May 2016 to January 2020 were enrolled retrospectively. The demographic data, vascular risk factors, baseline blood pressure, laboratory findings, stroke severity, infarct location and distribution pattern were documented. The patients were divided into RLS group and non-RLS group according to the findings of the transcranial Doppler ultrasound foaming test. They were divided into single lesion group and multiple-lesion group according to the findings of diffusion-weighted imaging. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify the correlation between RLS and infarct pattern. Results:A total of 68 patients with acute cryptogenic stroke were included, 37 of them were male (54.4%), and their age was 47.63±6.57 years (range, 31-59 years). Thirty patients (44.1%) had RLS, including 22 (73.3%) with mild shunt and 8 (26.7%) with severe shunt. The proportions of men, cortical-subcortical infarction and multiple blood supply area lesions in the RLS group were significantly higher than those in the non-RLS group, while triacylglycerol, body mass index, the proportions of patients with subcortical infarction and single lesions in the single vessel blood supply area were significantly lower than those in the non-RLS group ( P<0.05). The proportions of patients with anterior circulation+ posterior circulation infarction, cortical-subcortical infarction, and RLS in the multi-lesion group were significantly higher than those in the single-lesion group, while the proportion of patients with subcortical infarction was significantly lower than that in the single-lesion group (all P<0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that RLS was an independent risk factor for multiple infarctions (odds ratio 6.681, 95% confidence interval 1.206-37.019; P=0.030). Conclusion:RLS is independently associated with multiple infarctions in patients with cryptogenic stroke.