It is not always easy to observe and screen atrial septal defects (ASD) using echocardiography. In addition, there are no established echocardiographic reference indices for screening patients with ASDs. We retrospectively reviewed our database and recruited 151 isolated ASD patients and 2769 healthy subjects. In total, 307 echocardiographic studies were performed for ASD patients. Surgical repairs were done in 75 of the ASD patients. The ratio of right to left ventricular end-diastolic dimensions (RVD/LVD), which was determined by M-mode echocardiography, was used as an index of RV dilatation. After obtaining age- and body surface area (BSA)-related RVD/LVD nomograms in healthy subjects, we calculated the z-scores of RVD/LVD for all subjects and obtained the optimal cut-off values to differentiate patients with ASD from healthy subjects. The optimal cut-off values were high in neonates and gradually decreased with an increase in the age and BSA, but were almost constant in children aged >4 years or whose BSA was >0.65 m(2). The cut-off values of RVD/LVD for suspected ASD were ≥0.42 in children aged >4 years or those whose BSA was >0.65 m(2). Those for an ASD operation were ≥0.46 in those whose BSA > 0.65 m(2). The RVD/LVD determined by M-mode echocardiography is a useful index to evaluate RV dilatation in patients with ASDs. The RVD/LVD ≥ 0.42 is the warning flag for suspecting ASD in preschool children and that ≥0.46 may be a clinical important sign to determine ASD operation.
Keywords: Children; Congenital; Echocardiography; Heart defects; Screening.