Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41782517›Full record

ArticleEuropean journal of neurology2026

Total Bolus Transit Time Predicts Cardiac Dysfunction in Acute Ischemic Stroke and Transient Ischemic Attack Patients: A Retrospective Double Center Study.

Simone Bellavia, Pier Andrea Rizzo, Irene Scala, Jacopo Di Giovanni, Agostino Meduri, Aldobrando Broccolini, Giacomo Della Marca, Simona Scalise, Adriana Paladini, Francesca Colò and 4 more

Abstract readMulticenter Study
In one paragraph

Article in European journal of neurology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
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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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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

14 authors.

Simone BellaviaUniversità Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy.
Pier Andrea RizzoUniversità Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy.
Irene ScalaUniversità Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy.ORCID 0000-0003-2370-840X
Jacopo Di GiovanniUniversità Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy.
Agostino MeduriDipartimento di Diagnostica Per Immagini, Radioterapia Oncologica Ed Ematologia, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostini Gemelli, IRCCS, Rome, Italy.
Aldobrando BroccoliniUniversità Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy.
Giacomo Della MarcaUniversità Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy.
Simona ScaliseUnità Operativa complessa di Neurologia, Ospedale "Vito Fazzi" - Lecce, Rome, Italy.
Adriana PaladiniUnità Operativa complessa di Neuroradiologia, -Ospedale "Vito Fazzi" - Lecce, Bern-University Hospital (Interspinal), Bern, Switzerland.
Francesca ColòUnità Operativa complessa di Neuroradiologia, -Ospedale "Vito Fazzi" - Lecce, Bern-University Hospital (Interspinal), Bern, Switzerland.
Simona GaudinoUniversità Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy.
Paolo CalabresiUniversità Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy.ORCID 0000-0003-0326-5509
Marcella CaggiulaUnità Operativa complessa di Neurologia, Ospedale "Vito Fazzi" - Lecce, Rome, Italy.
Giovanni FrisulloUnità Operativa Complessa di Neurologia, Dipartimento di Neuroscienze, Organi di Senso e Torace, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostini Gemelli, IRCCS, Rome, Italy.ORCID 0000-0002-1604-6594

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundDiagnosing cardioembolic stroke/transient ischemic attack (TIA) rapidly remains a major challenge. Current emergency cardiac assessments often provide insufficient data. This study tests whether bolus tracking, a readily available technique during brain CTA, can be leveraged to quickly identify reduced ejection fraction (EF) and potential cardioembolic etiology in acute stroke patients. PATIENTS AND

methodsWe retrospectively analyzed CTA and echocardiography data from acute ischemic stroke/TIA patients across two comprehensive stroke centers. We measured total transit time (TTT) based on aortic attenuation values of 40 Hounsfield Units (T40HU) and 100 HU (T100HU) obtained during routine CTA. ΔT100-T40HU, representing the time difference required for aortic contrast enhancement to increase from 40 to 100 HU, was also calculated as a key parameter. EF was measured by transthoracic echocardiography using the Simpson biplane method.

resultsIn a cohort of 443 patients, we found a statistically significant inverse correlation between EF and T40HU, T100HU, and ΔT100-T40HU. Notably, ΔT100-T40HU demonstrated good discriminatory ability for identifying heart failure (AUROC = 0.88) and poor discriminatory ability for cardioembolic stroke (AUROC = 0.66). Multivariate analysis further confirmed that T40HU, T100HU, and ΔT100-T40HU were independent predictors of both heart failure and cardioembolic stroke based on the TOAST classification criteria.

conclusionBolus tracking during CTA provides a reliable and easily accessible radiological tool for the identification of heart failure and cardioembolic stroke, enabling a faster diagnostic workup and facilitating appropriate selection of further diagnostic investigations within the acute emergency setting.

Indexed as

Ischemic Attack, TransientIschemic StrokeStrokeAgedAged, 80 and overCerebral AngiographyComputed Tomography AngiographyEchocardiographyFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedRetrospective Studiesatrial fibrillationechocardiographyheart failureneuroimagingstroke

Identifiers

PMID41782517
PMCPMC12961353

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Registered trials

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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.