Detection of Small Ventricular Septal Defects Comparison of Selective Left Ventricular Cineangiography with Indicator-Dilution Techniques

The value of selective left ventricular cineangiography in the detection of small ventricular septal defects was assessed in 23 patients in whom no shunt was detected by blood oxygen saturation change. A comparison was made with selective indocyaninegreen indicator-dilution curves in 10 of these patients. A ventricular septal defect was demonstrated by both methods in 10. However, in one case, the indicator curve showed a left-to-right shunt whereas selective left ventricular cineangiography failed to demonstrate it. Conversely, in two other cases, selective left ventricular cineangiography demonstrated a small ventricular septal defect while a normal curve was obtained by indicator-dilution technique. Comparing our experience with cineangiography with that of others, using hydrogen ion and indocyanine-green indicator-dilution techniques for the detection of small left-to-right intracardiac shunts, it seems there is little difference in the sensitivity of the three methods. Each is capable of detecting ve...