Background: Intense inflammatory response and the releasing of cytokines are one of the known inflammatory responses in COVID19. Activation of inflammatory cascade increases the production of cytokines and chemokines such as IL-1, IL-6, IL-8, which can increase the risk of the perioperative complication rate.1,2,3 Therefore, we hypothesized that the intense inflammatory response due to COVID19 [...]

Case Presentation: This is a case of a 68-year-old female with a history of a recent cryptogenic stroke and atrial fibrillation who presented for an elective TEE for patent foramen ovale (PFO) evaluation and possible closure. TEE revealed a PFO with evidence of a right-to-left shunt. After completion, the patient reported exquisite neck tenderness, severe [...]