Anesthesia for percutaneous transcatheter closure of atrial and ventricular septal defects in pediatric patients

We aimed to investigate the anesthetic management of percutaneous closure of atrial and ventricular septal defects (ASD/VSD) in pediatric patients. A retrospective review of the anesthetic data of 351 patients who underwent transcatheter closure of ASD/VSD was conducted. The mean age was 8.42 ± 5.71 years (4 months-18 years). VSD closure was performed in 52 patients and the remaining 299 had a procedure for ASD closure. All patients were premedicated with midazolam. All procedures were performed under general anesthesia in the catheterization laboratory. After anesthesia induction with sevoflurane or intravenous anesthetics, all patients were intubated. The procedure was completed without any complications in 98.3% of patients. Many anesthetic drugs have been used for pediatric cardiac catheterization, but it cannot be concluded whether there is an ideal anesthetic method. Regardless of the method, the anesthesiologist must consider not only the need for adequate analgesia and immobility but also that for hemodynamic stability during the procedure.