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Congenital isolated apical ventricular septal defects
S Atalay1, A Imamoğlu, L Dilek
1Ankara University, Pediatric Cardiology Institute of Child Health, Turkey.
Angiology
|May 20, 1998
Summary
Diagnosing apical ventricular septal defects (VSDs) is challenging. This study found that 43.5% of small apical VSDs closed spontaneously, indicating an excellent prognosis for these defects.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Cardiology
- Echocardiography
- Congenital Heart Disease
Background:
- Apical ventricular septal defects (VSDs) present diagnostic challenges.
- The rate of spontaneous closure for apical VSDs is not well-established.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the diagnostic utility of color-flow Doppler (CFD) imaging for apical VSDs.
- To determine the spontaneous closure rate and prognosis of apical VSDs in pediatric patients.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of 33 pediatric patients diagnosed with apical VSDs between 1992 and 1997.
- Utilized color-flow Doppler (CFD) imaging for defect identification and characterization.
- Follow-up examinations were conducted for a subset of patients to assess spontaneous closure.
Main Results:
- CFD imaging identified 33 cases of small apical VSDs, often requiring specific transducer angulation for visualization.
- Among 23 patients with follow-up, 10 (43.5%) experienced spontaneous closure of their apical VSD.
- Patients were generally asymptomatic with normal electrocardiograms and telecardiograms.
Conclusions:
- Color-flow imaging is highly sensitive for detecting small apical VSDs.
- While spontaneous closure of apical VSDs is not universal, the prognosis is generally excellent.
- This study represents the largest series of isolated apical trabecular VSDs to date.