[The potentials of echocardiography in the diagnosis of interatrial communications and in the determination of surgical treatment indices]. / Vozmozhnosti ékhokardiografii v diagnostike mezhpredserdnykh soobshchenii i opredelenii pokazanii k khirurgicheskomu lecheniiu.

The authors have examined 550 patients (210 men and 340 women) with the suspected diagnosis of interatrial communication. The age of the patients was from 4 to 53 years (80% of the patients were 10-20 years of age). An original method of prolonged infusion contrast echocardiography and catheterization of the heart were used in 186 patients. Respiration tests were performed in 88 of them. A great defect of the interatrial septum (DIAS) was diagnosed in 31 patients, 15 patients had small DIAS, 40 patients had potent foramen ovale, 464 patients had functional noise. The prolonged infusion contrast echocardiography allowed the right-left shunt to be detected in all the patients with great DIAS, in 86.7% of the patients with small DIAS and in 87.5% of the patients having potent foramen ovale (false positive result was noted only in 2% of the patients with functional noise). The respiration test in patients with functional noise was (21.4 +/- 4)%, with foramen ovale (20 +/- 8)%, with small DIAS (17 +/- 6)% and with great DIAS (8.3 +/- 3)%. The prolonged infusion contrast echocardiography and the respiration test are though by the authors to be indicated to all patients with the suspected diagnosis of the interatrial communication. They allow making the exact diagnosis, estimating the degree of hemodynamic disturbances and determining indications to surgical treatment.