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

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. 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. 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. ICE-guided ASD occlusion is safe and effective method, which provides more accurate anatomical information, shorter fluoroscopy time and procedure time.