Surgical emergencies during pediatric interventional catheterization.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the incidence of catheter-related surgical emergencies during pediatric interventional catheterization procedures.


METHODS
We reviewed all interventional catheter procedures (n = 578) over a 4-year period (April 1996 to April 2000) to determine any complication during interventional catheterization that required surgery within 24 hours after catheterization.


RESULTS
The overall incidence of surgical emergencies was 1.9% (70% confidence limits, 1.5% to 2.7%). Complications that required surgical intervention occurred with balloon dilation (valvuloplasty, angioplasty, n = 4), device deployment (coils, stents, atrial-septal defect devices, n = 5), transhepatic access (n = 1), and atrial transseptal puncture (n = 1). For the majority of interventions, the incidence of surgical emergencies was <4% except for two procedures (conduit and pulmonary artery angioplasty) with limited numbers of patients. There were no surgical emergencies during endomyocardial biopsy, coarctation angioplasty, or balloon atrial septostomy.


CONCLUSIONS
Surgery was required in 1.9% of all interventional catheter procedures. Surgical emergencies occurred during a wide variety of catheter interventions and could not be predicted by the type of procedure performed.
Schroeder
Valerie A
VA
Heart Center, Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio 45229, USA.
Shim
David
D
Spicer
Robert L
RL
Pearl
Jeffery M
JM
Manning
Peter J
PJ
Beekman
Robert H
RH
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D006328:Cardiac Catheterization / Q000009:adverse effects*; D002404:Catheterization / Q000009:adverse effects*; D002408:Catheters, Indwelling / Q000009:adverse effects*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004630:Emergencies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D009820:Ohio; D019919:Prosthesis Implantation / Q000009:adverse effects*; D013514:Surgical Procedures, Operative