Frequency of Microemboli Signal in Stroke Patients Treated with Low Molecular Weight Heparin or Aspirin

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Microemboli signal (MES) detected by transcranial Doppler (TCD) may represent ongoing embolic phenomenon and is a predictor of recurrent stroke or transient ischemic attack. We sought to study the frequency of MES in stroke patients with large artery occlusive diseases treated with low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) or aspirin. METHODS Patients participating in the Fraxiparine in Ischemic Stroke (FISS)-tris study were recruited. MES detection was performed from middle cerebral artery on the 1st, 3rd, and 7th days after randomization. The correlation between the presence of MES and the treatment was determined by the χ2 test. RESULTS Among 47 patients, 26 were randomized to LMWH and 21 to aspirin. On day 1, MES were detected in 10 patients (7/26 on LMWH, 3/21 on aspirin; P= .475). On day 3, 12 patients had MES (7/25 on LMWH, 5/20 on aspirin; P= .821). On day 7, 11 patients had MES (6/25 on LMWH, 5/20 on aspirin; P= .938). The median of the number of MES on days 1, 3, and 7 was 4 (range 1-10), 5 (range 1-42), and 3 (range 1-33) for the LMWH group and 1 (range 1-15), 4 (range 1-10), and 2 (range 1-4) for the aspirin group. CONCLUSIONS There were no significant differences in the frequency of MES between patients with large artery occlusive disease treated with LMWH and aspirin.