Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29512097›Full record

SynthesisCardiology journal2019

Patent foramen ovale closure versus medical therapy after cryptogenic stroke: An updated meta-analysis of all randomized clinical trials.

Babikir Kheiri, Ahmed Abdalla, Mohammed Osman, Sahar Ahmed, Mustafa Hassan, Ghassan Bachuwa

Open access · goldAbstract readMeta-AnalysisReview
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Cardiology journal, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
13citing papers in PubMed
1.5field-weighted citation impact, top 18% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

13 citing papers in PubMed, 22 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Antithrombotic Therapy in Percutaneous Atrial Structural Interventions.Journal of cardiovascular development and disease · 2026
    Review
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Review
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Review
  11. Article
  12. European position paper on the management of patients with patent foramen ovale. Part II - Decompression sickness, migraine, arterial deoxygenation syndromes and select high-risk clinical conditions.EuroIntervention : journal of EuroPCR in collaboration with the Working Group on Interventional Cardiology of the European Society of Cardiology · 2021
    Article
  13. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Babikir KheiriDepartment of Internal Medicine, Hurley Medical Center, Michigan State University, United States. babikir.kheiri@hotmail.com.
Ahmed AbdallaDepartment of Internal Medicine, Hurley Medical Center, Michigan State University, United States.
Mohammed OsmanDepartment of Internal Medicine, Hurley Medical Center, Michigan State University, United States.
Sahar AhmedDepartment of Internal Medicine, Hurley Medical Center, Michigan State University, United States.
Mustafa HassanDepartment of Internal Medicine, Hurley Medical Center, Michigan State University, United States.
Ghassan BachuwaDepartment of Internal Medicine, Hurley Medical Center, Michigan State University, United States.
Michigan State University · USHurley Medical Center · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundCryptogenic strokes can be attributed to paradoxical emboli through patent foramen ovale (PFO). However, the effectiveness of PFO closure in preventing recurrent stroke is uncertain and the results of previous randomized clinical trials (RCTs) have been inconclusive. Hence, this study pro- vides an updated meta-analysis of all RCTs comparing PFO closure with medical therapy for secondary prevention of cryptogenic stroke.

methodsAll RCTs were identified by a comprehensive literature search of PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Collaboration Central Register of Controlled Trials, Scopus, and Clinicaltrials.gov. The primary outcome was recurrent ischemic stroke and secondary outcomes were transient ischemic at- tack (TIA), all-cause mortality, new-onset atrial fibrillation (AF), serious adverse events, and major bleeding.

resultsFive RCTs with 3440 participants were included in the present study (1829 patients under- went PFO closure and 1611 were treated medically). Pooled analysis showed a statistically significant reduction in the rate of recurrent stroke with PFO closure in comparison to medical therapy (OR 0.41; 95% CI 0.19-0.90; p = 0.03). However, there were no statistically significant reductions of recurrent TIAs (OR 0.77; 95% CI 0.51-1.14; p = 0.19) or all-cause mortality (OR 0.76; 95% CI 0.35-1.65; p = 0.48). The risk of developing new-onset AF was increased significantly with PFO closure (OR 4.74; 95% CI 2.33-9.61; p < 0.0001), but no significant differences in terms of serious adverse events or major bleeding between both groups.

conclusionsPatent foramen ovale closure in adults with recent cryptogenic stroke was associated with a lower rate of recurrent strokes in comparison with medical therapy alone.

Indexed as

Randomized Controlled Trials as TopicSeptal Occluder DeviceBrain IschemiaCardiac Surgical ProceduresCause of DeathFibrinolytic AgentsForamen Ovale, PatentGlobal HealthHumansIncidenceRecurrenceRisk FactorsSurvival RateFibrinolytic Agentsatrial tachyarrhythmiapatent foramen ovaleseptal occlude devicetranscutaneous closure

Identifiers

PMID29512097
PMCPMC8086686
OpenAlexW2793980704

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.