Fogel M A
Division of Cardiology, Department of Pediatrics, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, 34th Street and Civic Center Boulevard, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA.
Pediatr Cardiol. 2005 Mar-Apr;26(2):154-8. doi: 10.1007/s00246-004-0960-6.
With the advent of cardiac magnetic resonance imaging and high-resolution echocardiography, cardiac catheterization is unnecessary in clinical protocols in the "routine" single ventricle patient. Catheterization adds little to clinical care in these cases, and there are significant risks and costs associated with it. Catheterization should be reserved for cases in which noninvasive evaluations are equivocal, conflictory, demonstrate deterioration, or needed for intervention. This article delineates the role of noninvasive evaluations relative to cardiac catheterization in the routine single ventricle patient.