PERCUTANEOUS CATHETER CLOSURE OF THE PERSISTENTLY PATENT DUCTUS-ARTERIOSUS IN THE ADULT

The USCI patent ductus occluder has been shown to be an effective nons urgical technique for closure of the persistently patent ductus in a p rimarily pediatric population, Its clinical impact in the adult hers b een reported only within small subgroups of larger pediatric studies o r for a small population. This study was conducted to determine the fe asibility, success rate, and complications of device closure for the p ersistently patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) in the adult, The populatio n consisted of 55 patients (4 men and 51 women; mean age 38.8 +/- 15.0 years) with fellow-up of 2.2 +/- 2.1 years, All patients underwent ec hocardiography obtained as part of their follow-up assessment. The dev ice was successfully placed in 54 patients, with 75% clinical and echo cardiographic closure at the first follow-up assessment (2.4 +/- 2.6 m onths), One patient with initial clinical and echocardiographic eviden ce of closure was subsequently found to have an open ductus, Spontaneo us closure (2 patients) or second implant (6 patients) resulted in 86% closure at the most recent assessment, Thus, the percutaneous PDA dou ble-umbrella occluder device is a feasible and effective technique for closing persistent PDA in the adult and will result in occlusion of t he shunt in most patients without the need for thoracotomy.