Short- and mid-term outcomes of arrhythmia after transcatheter and surgical closure of membranous ventricular septal defects: a comparative analysis

Abstract

To evaluate the short- and mid-term outcomes of arrhythmia in patients undergoing transcatheter and surgical closure of membraneous ventricular septal defect (VSD). 358 VSD patients, 161 male and 197 female, aged (11 +/- 8), underwent transcatheter closure and 50 sex, age, body weight, size of membranous VSD, and percentage of complicated membranous aneurysm-matched VSD patients underwent surgical closure. Electrocardiography was conducted 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after VSD closure. Except bundle branch block other kinds of arrhythmia were resolved in all the patients prior to discharge. The arrhythmias occurring in the patients who underwent transcatheter closure of VSD included complete right bundle branch block (CRBBB, 4 5%), incomplete right bundle branch block (IRBBB, 10.1%), left anterior fascicular block (LAFB, 2.8%), IRBBB complicated with LAFB (1.7%), and CRBBB complicated with LAFB (0.6%), while in the patients who underwent surgical closure included CRBBB (26%) and IRBBB (28%). At the end of 12 months of follow-up, of the 180 patients who had undergone interventional therapy 6 showed CRBBB (3.3%), 6 showed IRBBB (3.3%), 3 showed CRBBB complicated with LAFB (1.7%) and one showed third degree auriculo-ventricular block (0.56%) s, however, no significant change in the ECG findings occurred in the patients who had undergone surgical closure. Transcatheter occlusion of membraneous VSD is safer than surgical closure. IRBBB and LAFB caused by interventional therapy are benign, the majority of which may resolve itself 6 - 12 months after the procedure. However, CRBBB and CRBBB complicated with LAFB need a long-term follow-up.