Summary

Background:

The closure of an atrial septal defect is procedure that is frequently performed in both adults and children. Currently, the most commonly used devices are the Amplatzer® and Occlutech® Figulla® atrial septal occluders. Studies conducted in adults have shown that these devices all have similar performance efficiency for the closure of secundum atrial septal defects. No study to date has examined their performance in the pediatric population.

Objectives:

To evaluate and compare the performance of Amplatzer® and Occlutech® Figulla® atrial septal occluders in the pediatric population.

Methods:

A consecutive retrospective study of exclusively pediatric patients who underwent percutaneous closure of atrial septal defect with these devices was conducted at our institute. 

Results:

The study comprised 110 children, 50 in the Amplatzer® device group and 60 in the Occlutech® Figulla® device group. The groups had similar demographic and defect characteristics, except for defect size per transesophageal echocardiography (TEE), which was 2.1 mm larger in the Amplatzer® device group (P = 0.02). No adverse events were recorded in either of the study groups. Complete defect closure at 12 months follow-up (procedural success) was achieved in all but one of the patients in the Amplatzer® group and all but two in the Figulla® group (P = 1). The residual shunt rates of fenestrated defects were similar in the two groups. 

Conclusions:

For children with an isolated secundum atrial septal defect, percutaneous closure is equally safe and effective with either Amplatzer® or Occlutech® Figulla® devices.