title: [Intracardiac echocardiography imaging for device closure of atrial septal defects--a single-center experience].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Device closure of interatrial communications has become a well-established technique to treat left-to-right shunt associated with atrial septal defect (ASD) and to prevent paradoxical embolism in patients with patent foramen ovate (PFO). Guidance by transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) is the standard practice but intracardiac echocardiography (ICE) is a feasible and safe alternative for monitoring these procedures.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To report our experience in the percutaneous closure of ASD and PFO guided by ICE.
  
  
  METHODS
  We retrospectively reviewed all patients with ASD or PFO who underwent percutaneous closure guided exclusively by ICE between January 2008 and December 2010. All patients were followed clinically with regular echocardiographic evaluation (at discharge, one month, three, six and twelve months) to exclude residual shunt and device malposition.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 127 patients (mean age 46.6 +/- 12.2 years; 71% female) underwent transcatheter device closure of ASD or PFO during the study period. Device deployment with ICE monitoring was 100% successful, with a low rate of complications and eliminating the need for additional imaging techniques.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  ICE provides anatomical detail of ASD/PFO and cardiac structures, facilitating congenital cardiac interventional procedures. It eliminates the major drawbacks associated with TEE and enables the interventional cardiologist to control all aspects of the procedure without relying on additional echocardiographic support.
authors.affiliation: Serviço de Cardiologia, Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra - Hospital Geral, Portugal. luisseca@gmail.com
authors.forename: Luís
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Seca
authors.forename: Romeu
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cação
authors.forename: Joana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.forename: Rui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Providência
authors.forename: Paula
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mota
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Costa
authors.forename: António Leitão
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Marques
mesh_terms: D057791:Cardiac Imaging Techniques; D005260:Female; D006344:Heart Septal Defects, Atrial / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019919:Prosthesis Implantation / Q000379:methods; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D055989:Septal Occluder Device; D018084:Ultrasonography, Interventional