Sizing of atrial septal defects by intracardiac echocardiography for device closures.
BACKGROUND
Transcatheter closure of a secundum atrial septal defect (ASD) has become an effective method for surgical treatment. In this study, we evaluated the feasibility and accuracy of intracardiac echocardiography (ICE) for sizing ASDs compared with conventional methods.


METHODS
Between January 2004 and December 2006, 270 patients underwent transcatheter closure of secundum ASD by using septal occluders. For 142 patients, the procedure was guided by transesophageal echocardiography (TEE), and for 128 patients by ICE. We compared the maximal diameters of the ASDs obtained during angiocardiography, transthoracic echocardiography (TTE), ICE, and TEE with balloon-stretched sizes ascertained by using a sizing plate.


RESULTS
ASD diameters measured with the sizing plate were significantly correlated with those measured with ICE (r = 0.963), TEE (r = 0.912), angiography (r = 0.88), and TTE (r = 0.85). The predicted stretched diameter of the ASDs, i.e. (nonstretched diameter measured with ICE x 1.07) + 3.23 mm, agreed well with that measured by using a sizing plate (Ri = 0.974).


CONCLUSIONS
ASD diameters measured with ICE correlated with sizing-plate measurements better than those determined with TEE, angiography or TTE.
Chien
Jen-Chung
JC
Department of Pediatrics, Lo-Tung Pohai Hospital, Ilan, Republic of China.
Hwang
Betau
B
Fu
Yun-Ching
YC
Lee
Pi-Chang
PC
Hsieh
Kai-Sheng
KS
Jan
Sheng-Ling
SL
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004452:Echocardiography; D017548:Echocardiography, Transesophageal; D006344:Heart Septal Defects, Atrial / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged