{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,15]],"date-time":"2026-05-15T01:55:18Z","timestamp":1778810118385,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":25,"publisher":"Oxford University Press (OUP)","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,2]],"date-time":"2026-01-02T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1767312000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":1,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Spanish Society of Neurosonology"},{"name":"World organization of Neurosonology\/European Society of Cerebral Hemodynamics and Neurosonology"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,1]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Focused cardiac ultrasound (FoCUS) has a high diagnostic yield and a rapid theoretical learning curve. FoCUS can be applied in stroke assessments performed by stroke neurologists when a cardioembolic stroke is suspected.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Patients and methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>An international multicenter, prospective validation study was conducted to assess neurologists\u2019 ability to perform FoCUS. The FoCUS examination was defined as a simplified 2D transthoracic echocardiography. Neurologists and cardiologists performed the FoCUS independently and blinded. A twenty-question test evaluated neurologists\u2019 ability to recognize sources of cardioembolic stroke from recorded FoCUS studies.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A total of 432 paired studies involving 216 patients were conducted across 11\u2009centers. No significant differences were found between neurologists and cardiologists in detecting: Left Ventricle (LV) dysfunction (7.4% vs 7.9%, p\u2009=\u20090.834), LV dilation (2.8% vs 2.3%, p\u2009=\u20090.766), VC collapsibility (7.2% vs 9.1%, p\u2009=\u20090.501), Right Ventricle dysfunction (0.9% vs 0.9%, p\u2009=\u20090.999), and pericardial effusion (0.5% vs 1.9%, p\u2009=\u20090.212). Cohen Kappa showed substantial agreement for LV dysfunction (0.640), moderate for LV dilation (0.589), and fair for VC collapsibility (0.226). Neurologists demonstrated 93.82% sensitivity and 92.92% specificity for detecting embolic sources. Success rate for LV akinesia was 88% (16\/18), LV dysfunction 83% (15\/18), complex aortic plaque 88% (16\/18), and mitral stenosis 55% (10\/18).<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Discussion and conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Properly trained neurologists can reliably perform FoCUS, particularly for assessing LV function and dilation, with better results in patients with favorable echocardiographic windows. While VC assessment requires further training, neurologists demonstrated high accuracy in identifying cardioembolic sources (over 90% of cases correctly identified). This study supports implementing standardized FoCUS training for neurologists through collaboration with cardiology specialists to enhance stroke diagnostics and management.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1093\/esj\/23969873251345374","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,20]],"date-time":"2026-01-20T11:01:42Z","timestamp":1768906902000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Focused cardiac ultrasound conducted by neurologists in patients with stroke: A validation study"],"prefix":"10.1093","volume":"11","author":[{"given":"Jorge","family":"Pagola","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Vall d\u2019Hebron University Hospital , Stroke Unit, Neurology Department, Barcelona ,","place":["Spain"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Piergiorgio","family":"Lochner","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine , Saarland University Hospital and Saarland University, Homburg, Saarland ,","place":["Germany"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Radim","family":"Licenik","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust , Neurology and Cardiology Department, Edith Cavell Campus, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire ,","place":["UK"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0005-4055-984X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Giulio Maria","family":"Fiore","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Vall d\u2019Hebron University Hospital , Stroke Unit, Neurology Department, Barcelona ,","place":["Spain"]},{"name":"Department of Neurosciences , Psychology, Drug Research and Child Health (NEUROFARBA), University of Florence, Florence ,","place":["Italy"]},{"name":"Stroke Unit , University Hospital Careggi, Florence, Tuscany 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and Saarland University, Homburg, Saarland ,","place":["Germany"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1604-2179","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Juan","family":"Alvarez-Cienfuegos","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Neurology Department , Hospital Universitari de Girona Doctor Josep Trueta, Girona ,","place":["Spain"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Sergio","family":"Moral","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Cardiology Department , Hospital Universitari de Girona DC Josep Trueta, Girona ,","place":["Spain"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Roberto","family":"Mu\u00f1oz Arrondo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Neurology Department , Hospital de Navarra, Pamplona, Navarra 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,","place":["Spain"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jorge","family":"Rodr\u00edguez-Pardo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Neurology and Stroke Center , Hospital La Paz Institute for Health Research-IdiPAZ, Madrid ,","place":["Spain"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Esther","family":"P\u00e9rez-David","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Cardiology , Hospital La Paz Institute for Health Research-IdiPAX, Madrid ,","place":["Spain"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0007-0237-8313","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Juan Manuel","family":"Garc\u00eda-S\u00e1nchez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Neurology Department , Hospital Universitario de Basurto-OSI Bilbao, Bilbao, Pa\u00eds Vasco ,","place":["Spain"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Lara","family":"Ruiz G\u00f3mez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Cardiology Department , Hospital Universitario de Basurto-OSI Bilbao, Bilbao, Pa\u00eds Vasco ,","place":["Spain"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1162-4209","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Laura","family":"Amaya Pascasio","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Neurology Department , Complejo Hospitalario Torrecardenas Servicio de Neurologia, Hermandad donantes de sangre S\/N Almeria ,","place":["Spain"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Elvira","family":"Carri\u00f3n R\u00edos","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Cardiology Department , Complejo Hospitalario Torrecardenas Servicio de Cardiologia, Hermandad donantes de sangre S\/N Almeria 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