Comparison of the Occlutech ® Figulla ® septal occluder and Amplatzer ® septal occluder for atrial septal defect device closure.

The Occlutech(®) Figulla(®) septal occluder (OFSO) is a later-generation double-disk device with few reports of its success rates and complications compared with the Amplatzer(®) septal occluder (ASO), which is the worldwide standard device in percutaneous atrial septal defect (ASD) closure. We recruited and compared the results in 149 patients (76.5 % female) who underwent ASD device closure in our center between January 2003 and June 2012.

Developing standard reference data for Thai children from a six-minute walk test.

Background: The six-minute walk test (6MWT) is a useful test for pre-and post-treatment comparisons, measuring functional status and predicting morbidity and mortality. The test is not widely used with children because the exact reference data in healthy children are often not known and the test requires concentration and co-operation from the participants, which is harder to manage in children. Data for children have been studied in many countries, but data for Thai children is limited.