Anaesthesia for paediatric diagnostic and interventional cardiological procedures

Diagnostic cardiac catheterization was reported in the nineteenth century and interventional cardiac catheterization was first described by Rubio-Alvarez in 1954 for the treatment of pulmonary valve stenosis. In some centres, MRI is increasingly used for diagnostic imaging. To ensure safety and quality images, the majority of these procedures in children require general anaesthesia. Cardiac catheterization may be challenging when dealing with complex congenital cardiac lesions. Good communication between the team members is essential, so that cardiovascular changes can be anticipated and minimized as far as possible. This includes the full team: anaesthetist and assistant, cardiologist, scrub team, radiographer, and a cardiac physiologist. It is a challenging and high-risk field of anaesthetic practice and requires consultant-led care by specialists in paediatrics and congenital heart disease (CHD).