Safe and efectivef guidance by intracardiac echocardiography for transcatheter closure in atrial septal defects.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical outcome of intracardiac echocardiography (ICE) for transcatheter closure of atrial septal defect (ASD) compared with the trans-esophageal echocardiography (TEE) guided method. METHODS: From May 2010 to April 2011, 46 patients who underwent ICE guided (n=23) or TEE guided (n=23) transcatheter closure of ASD were analyzed retrospectively. We compared the demographic characteristic, procedure parameters and outcomes between ICE- and TEE-guided groups. RESULTS: No significant difference was found between 2 groups on demographic characteristics. Fluoroscopy time and procedure time was significantly decreased in ICE guided group than that in TEE-guided group. In addition, no significant difference was found on treatment outcomes, complications between these 2 groups. CONCLUSION: ICE-guided ASD occlusion is safe and effective method, which provides more accurate anatomical information, shorter fluoroscopy time and procedure time.