Diagnostic Cardiac Catheterization in Infants and Children

Echocardiography has greatly influenced the catheterization laboratory patient profile. The remarkable diagnostic precision of this tool has essentially eliminated the need for preoperative diagnostic catheterization in many of the common congenital lesions, such as tetralogy of Fallot, total anomalous pulmonary venous return, and endocardial cushion defects , . On the other hand, echocardiography identifies lesions, formerly undetected by other noninvasive means, that may be now therapeutically managed in the laboratory, such as a “silent” patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) and a small atrial septal defect (ASD). In addition, it is being used more frequently, particularly in the transesophageal mode, during interventional procedures such as septal device placement . (1) (2)