Clinical RoPE (cRoPE) score predicts patent foramen ovale detection among stroke patients: a multicenter observational study

Backgroud The role of patent foramen ovale (PFO) in cryptogenic stroke (CS) is debated. Tools to predict PFO occurrence and attributable fraction are needed to guide cost-effective diagnostics and treatment. Risk of Paradoxical Embolism (RoPE) score relies on neuroimaging findings, which might be inconclusive in up to 30% of cases. Methods We developed a clinical-based easy tool to predict the presence and attributable fraction of PFO in CS patients, without using neuroimaging. The clinical RoPE (cRoPE) score, ranging 1–10, was elaborated through Delphi method from the original RoPE score, replacing cortical infarction with the Oxfordshire Community Stroke Project (OCSP) classification (lacunar stroke = 0 points, other subtypes = 1 point). Then, from the SISIFO (Studio Italiano di prevalenza nello Stroke Ischemico di pervietà del Forame Ovale, or Prevalence of Patent Foramen Ovale in Ischemic Stroke in Italy) study, a multicenter, prospective study on consecutive acute ischemic stroke patients ( n = 1130) classified by Trial of Org 10172 in Acute Stroke Treatment (TOAST) and OCSP criteria and undergoing PFO testing, we selected the VV-CDC cohort (Vibo Valentia, Città di Castello, n = 323) to test the accuracy of cRoPE in predicting PFO detection. We compared cRoPE with RoPE to verify cRoPE reliability. Finally, we tested, through ROC analysis, the performance of cRoPE depending on TOAST classification. Results Overall, PFO was detected in 21% in VV-CDC and in 23.4% in remaining SISIFO cohort ( n = 807). cRoPE AUC and RoPE AUC were similar in VV-CDC. cRoPE performance was comparable with RoPE among CS (cRoPE AUC 0.76, 95%CI 0.67–0.85, RoPE AUC 0.75, 95%CI 0.66–0.84). Moving to the remaining SISIFO cohort, cRoPE confirmed satisfactory accuracy in predicting PFO detection in CS patients (cRoPE AUC 0.71, 95%CI 0.66–0.78, p = 0.032). Conclusions Conclusions: cRoPE might help in stratification of patients with CS, allowing accurate esteem of the likelihood of PFO to be found, especially in cases when neuroimaging is inconclusive.