METHODS: All patients with defects within the oval fossa deemed potentially suitable for transcatheter closure were investigated by transesophageal echocardiography with the aim of gaining extra information that might alter the decision to use the device to close the defect. Views were obtained in transverse and longitudinal planes, permitting measurements of the diameter of the defect, and its distance from the atrioventricular valves, coronary sinus, and pulmonary veins. Additionally, we sought to identify multiple defects, and to exclude sinus venosus defects.
RESULTS: Of 56 patients with left-to-right shunts, 41 (73.2%) were deemed suitable for closure with the Amplatzer Septal Occluder. All underwent the procedure successfully, with no complications. This includes 5 patients with multiple small defects that were sufficiently close to the main defect to be closed with a single device. Only two of these had been detected on the transthoracic study. In the remaining 15 of 56 patients, transcatheter closure was deemed unsuitable. In 9 patients, this was due to the limitation of the size of the device available during the period of study, this representing a relative contraindication. In the remaining 6 (10.7%), transcatheter closure was not performed because multiple defects were too far apart to be closed with a single device in 3 patients, two patients were noted to have a sinus venosus defect, and another was noted to have anomalous connection of the right upper pulmonary vein to the right atrium. Excluding patients contraindicated due to the size of the defect alone, transesophageal echocardiography provided extra information in one-tenth of our patients, which altered the decision regarding management.
CONCLUSION: Transesophageal echocardiography is indispensable in the evaluation of patients undergoing transcatheter closure of atrial septal defect.
DESIGN AND SETTINGS: This was a cross-sectional study approved by Mashhad University of Medical Sciences ethics committee and took place in Mashhad, Iran, for a period of 3 years from August 2008 till September 2011.
METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, 113 ASD patients participated and they were categorized into 3 groups on the basis of family relationship between their parents: first group-"no relationship," second group- "third degree relationship," and third group- "far relationship."
RESULTS: Among the 54 male and 59 female ASD patients, the most prevalent type of ASD was ASD secundum (85.0%) followed by sinus venosus (8.8%). A total of 56% patients were present in the first group and 15% and 29% in the second group and the third group, respectively." The relationship between consanguinity and type of ASD (P < .001) and gender (P < .001 each) was observed. The relationship between the age of onset of disease and consanguinity (P=.003) was also observed.
CONCLUSION: Considering the fact that there is a high prevalence of ASD and consanguineous marriage in Iran and bearing in mind the results of the present study, we recommend educating couples about the outcomes of consanguineous marriage in pre-marriage counseling.
METHODS: Between October 2013, when our service of paediatric cardiac surgery was opened, and December 2014, 24 patients were referred for surgical closure of VSDs. Among them, 17 patients (71%), with the median age of 6 years, ranging from 2 to 9 years, and with a median body weight of 19 kg, ranging from 11 to 56 kg, underwent surgical repair for doubly committed defects. In terms of size, the defect was considered moderate in 4 and large in 13. Aortic valvular regurgitation (AoVR) was present in 11 patients (65%) preoperatively, with associated malformations found in 14 (82%), with 5 patients (29%) having two or more associated defects.
RESULTS: After surgery, there was trivial residual shunting in 2 patients (12%). AoVR persisted in 6 (35%), reducing to trivial in 5 (29%) and mild in 1 (6%). Mean stays in the intensive care unit and hospital were 2.6 ± 1.2 days, ranging from 2 to 7 days, and 6.8 ± 0.8 days, ranging from 6 to 9 days, respectively. The mean follow-up was 14 ± 4 months, ranging from 6 to 20 months, with no early or late deaths and without clinical deterioration.
CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of doubly committed lesions is high in our experience, frequently associated with AoVR and other associated malformation. Early detection is crucial to prevent further progression of the disease. Patch closure remains the gold standard in management, not least since it allows simultaneous repair of associated intracardiac defects.