Echocardiographic aspects of percutaneous atrial septal defect closure in adults

Echocardiography plays an integral role in the diagnosis and management of atrial septal defects. With percutaneous closure of secundum defects becoming widespread, transoesophageal echocardiography in particular has assumed an important role in patient selection, as well as being central to the device deployment procedure, and an important tool in patient follow up.     

Outcomes of hospitalization in adults in the United States with atrial septal defect, ventricular septal defect, and atrioventricular septal defect

Atrial septal defect, ventricular septal defect (VSD), and atrioventricular septal defect (AVSD) are among the most common congenital heart lesions, with most children surviving to adulthood. However, the clinical course of these patients is largely unknown, particularly pertaining to inpatient care. The purpose of this study was to assess hospitalizations for septal defects in adults with congenital heart disease (CHD) and risk factors associated with significant morbidity and mortality. The 2007 Nationwide Inpatient Sample was used to assess national prevalence of hospitalizations in adults with CHD with septal defects. Co-morbidities and risk factors for mortality were also determined. There were 84,308 adult CHD admissions in the United States in 2007. Fifty-four percent of adult CHD admissions had diagnoses of septal defects, with 48% having atrial septal defect, 7% having VSD, and 0.4% having AVSD. Overall in-hospital mortality was 2.1%. Common co-morbidities included arrhythmias (31%), heart failure (20%), and diabetes mellitus (18%). On multivariable analysis, independent risk factors for mortality included presence of VSD (odds ratio 3.1, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.5 to 6.5), trisomy 21 (odds ratio 2.9, 95% CI 1.1 to 7.5), and pulmonary hypertension (odds ratio 1.5, 95% CI 1.0 to 2.4). In conclusion, this study of hospitalizations in adults with septal defects found that admissions are common and associated with significant co-morbidities. Overall mortality is low but is increased in patients with VSD. Cardiac and noncardiac co-morbidities are commonly encountered. Many noncardiac conditions, including trisomy 21 and the youngest and oldest groups, are associated with an increased risk of death.     

Minimally invasive direct access for repair of atrial septal defect in adults.

This report documents our early experience with minimally invasive direct-access surgical repair of atrial septal defect (ASD) in adults. We have developed minimally invasive techniques for direct-access ASD repair in adults while maintaining the efficacy of the open operative procedure. Between June 1996 and September 1998, 59 consecutive patients underwent repair of ASD, 34 (58%) of whom underwent minimally invasive direct-access surgical closure of ASD through a right parasternal, submammary, or upper hemisternotomy incision. Twenty-three (68%) were secundum type ASD, 5 (15%) were sinus venosus types, 2 (6%) were primum types, and 4 (122%) were patent foramen ovales. Twenty-six (77%) were women (mean age 39 +/- 15 years, range 18 to 79). The mean pulmonary-to-systemic shunt ratio (Qp/Qs) was 2.3 +/- 0.6 (n = 15). There were no operative or late deaths. Follow-up was 100% complete. Four patients (12%) developed major complications. All were alive and well at the time of follow-up and there was 1 late arrhythmia (atrial fibrillation). In all but 1 patient, New York Heart Association functional class was improved or unchanged (1.47 +/- 0.51 vs 1.06 +/- 0.25, p = 0.0001). These results indicate that minimally invasive direct-access repair of ASD in adults is safe and effective, and is broadly applicable to the entire spectrum of defects.     

Natural history of atrial septal defect.

The natural history of atrial septal defect becomes increasingly difficult to determine with the number of patients having operations. The expectation of life has been calculated for those surviving their first year by two quite independent methods: (I) from 121 reported necropsies and (2) by calculating the mortality rates each decade from 25 deaths among 167 personal or reported patients followed for 663 patient-years. They were patients rather than the ideal of unselected children, but many were symptomless when first seen and sent only because of their physical signs. The two methods gave close agreement about the percentages still living at the end of each decade, generally within +/- 1 or 2 per cent and only as much as +/- 4.5 per cent in the second decade. With the relatively small numbers involved, such close agreement is probably fortunate. The mortality rates are low for the first two decades, 0.6 and 0.7 per cent per annum. In successive decades they rise from 2.7, to 4.5, to 5.4, and 7.5 per cent per annum. One-quarter have died just before their 27th year, half by their 36th year, three-quarters by 50, and 90 per cent by 60 years. The arithmetical mean age of death is 37.5 +/- 4.5 years. The median is also 37 years. The mode is widely spread through the 3rd to 6th decades. All these figures are better than those for aortic stenosis, coarctation of the aorta, and pulmonary stenosis. In and after the fourth decade they approximate more closely to the figures for aortic stenosis and coarctation but are still better than those for pulmonary stenosis. They are improved on only by those with a persistent ductus.     

Bidirectional shunt in uncomplicated atrial septal defect.

The presence of right to left shunts at atrial level in 40 patients with an uncomplicated atrial septal defect was determined by measuring the pulmonary vein to systemic artery oxygen stepdown . In six patients (group 1) a sizeable right to left shunt was found: left atrial oxygen stepdown was greater than or equal to 0.7 vol%, mean right to left shunt 0.67 1/min/m2 (range 0.36-1.0), and arterial oxygen saturation between 84% and 90.5%. The patients in group 1 did not show any differences from those with left to right shunts alone (group 2) as regards sex, cardiac rhythm, heart rate, "a" wave and mean right atrial pressure, end diastolic right ventricular pressure, morphology of diastolic right ventricular pressure curves, pulmonary to systemic vascular resistance ratio, size of the defect, and coexistence of anomalous pulmonary venous drainage. Patients with coexisting right to left shunts were, however, significantly older and had smaller left to right shunts. Thus an appreciable number of patients with uncomplicated atrial septal defects have major right to left shunts which are unrelated to pulmonary hypertension or right heart failure. These shunts may be detected by the usual oximetric techniques and apparently develop with age, which suggests that they result from changes associated with chronic right volume overload.     

经导管封堵治疗成人房间隔缺损合并功能性三尖瓣返流

目的 探讨经导管封堵成人房间隔缺损（atrial septal defect, ASD）后能否改善其合并的功能性三尖瓣返流（tricuspid regurgitation, TR）。方法 连续纳入自2019年1月1日～2020年12月31日在空军军医大学西京医院心血管内科经导管封堵的ASD合并功能性TR患者,根据术前超声心动图评估TR严重程度并进行分级,术后6个月进行超声心动图随访,评估功能性TR的改善程度。结果 与合并轻度TR组相比,合并中/重度TR组患者年龄较大（P<0.01）,ASD直径较大,RV直径较大（均P<0.05）,与合并中度TR组相比,合并重度TR组患者年龄较大（P<0.01）,RV直径较大（P<0.05）。封堵前,11例患者合并重度TR,18例患者合并中度TR, 71例患者合并轻度TR;封堵术后6个月,10例患者（91%）由重度TR降至轻度,12例患者（67%）由中度TR降至轻度。所有患者中无轻度TR患者的返流量增加至中度或重度。单变量分析显示,持续性TR与肺动脉直径、右房直径、右室直径、左房直径、左室直径及ASD大小相关。经过多变量分析,以上...     

Evaluation of left-to-right shunts in adults with atrial septal defect using first-pass radionuclide cardiography.

Non-invasive determination of left-to-right shunts at the atrial level was performed by a new procedure using first-pass radionuclide measurement of cardiac output of the right and left ventricle. In 23 patients with coronary artery disease without shunt the mean difference between the cardiac outputs of the right and left ventricle was 0.04 l.min-1, the limits of agreement -0.80 to 0.88 l.min-1 and the 95% confidence interval for the bias -0.14 to 0.22 l.min-1. Right-sided cardiac catheterization was performed to assess the severity of the arterio-venous shunt by oximetry in 18 adult patients with atrial septal defects. The range of pulmonary-to-systemic flow ratios was 1.4 to 5.0 (mean 2.7) by oximetry and 1.3 to 4.4 (mean 2.5) by the radionuclide technique. The mean difference between flow ratios measured by the two methods was 0.25, the limits of agreement, -0.85 to 1.35 and the 95% confidence intervals for the bias -0.02 to 0.52. In two patients the difference in flow ratios was more than 1. In one of these the oximetric value was more than 2, and the radionuclide value less than 2. The limits of agreement between flow ratios determined by repeated measurements were -1.05 to 0.97, and by two independent observers -0.75 to 0.77. The present findings suggest that first-pass radionuclide determination of left-to-right shunts through atrial septal defects is both reproducible and accurate when compared to the oximetric technique.