Assessment of atrioventricular septal defects by two dimensional echocardiography.

Ninety-six patients with an atrioventricular septal defect were assessed by two dimensional echocardiography. Forty-eight patients were judged as having two discrete valve orifices. In this group, 37 had an intact ventricular septum and 11 a ventricular septal defect.

Quantitative radionuclide angiocardiography for left-to-right cardiac shunts in children.

Pulmonary to systemic flow ratios (Qp/Qs) were estimated by quantitative radionuclide angiocardiography (QRAC) in 135 children. The Qp/Qs ratios were derived from pulmonary time/activity curves using a gamma variate model. Eighty-five of these children also had Qp/Qs ratios estimated by oximetry at cardiac catheterization.

Assessment of total anomalous pulmonary venous connection by two-dimensional echocardiography.

Twenty-three patients with total anomalous pulmonary venous connection were studied by two-dimensional echocardiography. In all cases the diagnosis was made before invasive procedures, with surgical or angiocardiographic confirmation. Eleven patients had supracardiac drainage (three to the coronary sinus, two to the right atrium,) and seven had infracardiac drainage.

Detection and assessment of straddling and overriding atrioventricular valves by two dimensional echocardiography.

Sixteen patients with a straddling tricuspid and two with a straddling mitral valve were identified by two dimensional echocardiography. In all but one the atrioventricular valves appeared at the same level, indicating absence of the ventriculoatrial septum. A straddling valve was diagnosed by identifying subvalvular apparatus from one atrioventricular valve in both chambers, independent of whether they were ventricles or rudimentary chambers.

Two-dimensional echocardiographic assessment of common atrioventricular valves in univentricular hearts.

Twelve patients with univentricular heart and common atrioventricular valve were identified by two-dimensional echocardiography. Seven had an ostium primum atrial septal defect and five a common atrium. The common atrioventricular valve had the appearance of a free floating anterior leaflet flanked by two lateral leaflets.

Congenital mitral stenosis. Anatomical and functional assessment by echocardiography.

Digitised left ventricular echocardiograms were studied in nine children with congenital mitral stenosis to assess the severity of inflow obstruction. In six children the two prime indices of mitral stenosis were abnormal, with a prolonged time from minimum dimension to 20 per cent dimension change and a reduced peak dimension change during diastole. In three, however, these values did not suggest inflow obstruction, depsite significant gradients at cardiac catheterisation.