Follow-up of P dispersion after transcatheter closure of an atrial septal defect in children

Objectives: To determine in paediatric patients with atrial septal defects whether differences in P wave dispersion occurred with transcatheter closures using the Amplatzer septal occluder.Method: A total of 31 children who had undergone transcathater closures were evaluated. P maximum, P minimum, and P dispersion were measured with 12-lead surface electrocardiography, before the procedure and one week, one month, three months, six months and one year following the procedure. SPSS 10 was used for statistical analysis.Results: There were 23 (74.2%) females and 8 (25.8%) males with an overall mean age of 7.5±4.1 years and mean weidht of 26.2±16.9kg. The P maximum and P minimum measurements differed between patients during the follow-up period. Both measurements decreased with time. However, P dispersion was not significantly different throughout the follow-up period (before the procedure P maximum 95.4±15.6 ms, P minimum 64.5±15.4 ms, and P dispersion 30.8±11.4ms; one year later, P maximum 76.1±14.6 ms, P minimum 47.1±12.1 ms, and P dispersion 29.1±9.1ms).Conclusion: Over time, there are no P dispersion differences in transcatheter closures using the Amplatzer septal occluder.