[A modified management of the transcatheter occlusion of patent ductus arteriosus: using angiography combined with transthoracic echocardiography].

Objective: To evaluate the feasibility of angiography combined with transthoracic echocardiography (TEE) as a modified management of the transcatheter occlusion of patent ductus arteriosus (PDA).

Methods: Forty children with PDA were randomly divided into two groups (n=20 each): observed and control. The control group accepted traditional transcatheter occlusion, and the observed group received a modified management (angiography combined with TEE). The children in the observed group were monitored by realtime TTE.

Results: A complete occlusion was acquired by one occlusion operation in each child in the observed group. The TTE demonstrated that the occlusion device was in place, and that the blood flow velocities in the left and right pulmonary artery and the descending aorta were in normal ranges. There were shorter X-ray exposure time, shorter recovering time and less ICU stay time in the observed group than in the control group. The complications associated with blood vessel puncturation occurred in four children from the control group, but none of the observed group had the complications. The total hospitalization cost in the observed group was less than in the control group.

Conclusions: Angiography combined with TEE as a modified management of the transcatheter occlusion of PDA is recommended.