Indications for Cardiac Catheterization and Intervention in Pediatric Cardiac Disease

Preamble

Since publication of the last American Heart Association (AHA) scientific statement on this topic in 1998,¹ device technology, advances in interventional techniques, and an innovative spirit have opened the field of congenital heart therapeutic catheterization. Unfortunately, studies testing the safety and efficacy of catheterization and transcatheter therapy are rare in the field because of the difficulty in identifying a control population, the relatively small number of pediatric patients with congenital heart disease (CHD), and the broad spectrum of clinical expression. This has resulted in the almost exclusive “off-label” use of transcatheter devices, initially developed for management of adult diseases, for the treatment of CHD.

The objective of the present writing group, which included representatives of the AHA and endorsements from the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions and the American Academy of Pediatrics, was not only to provide the reader with an inventory of diagnostic catheterization and interventional treatment options but also to critically review the literature and formulate relative recommendations that are based on key opinion leader expertise and level of evidence. The writing group was charged with the task of performing an assessment of the evidence and giving a classification of recommendations and a level of evidence to each recommendation. The American College of Cardiology/AHA classification system was used, as follows: