Assessment of the state of pulmonary circulation in infants of the 1st year of life with complete transposition of great vessels and ventricular septal defects

: The condition of pulmonary circulation in children of the first year of life with complete transposition of the great vessels (CTGV) and interventricular septal defect (IVSD) was evaluated by comparing the complex of hemodynamic and angiometric values obtained in catheterization of the heart cavities and angiocardiography. All patients were divided into two hemodynamic groups according to the blood flow in the lungs: group 1 - with the ratio of pulmonary to systemic circulation (PC/SC) greater than 1; group 2 - with the PC/SC ratio less than 1. In group 1 patients the ratio of effective pulmonary circulation (EC) to PC is always less than the ratio of EC to SC both in normal and in increased total pulmonary resistance (TPR); in group 2 patients, in contrast, EC/PC greater than EC/SC when TPR is above 10 mu/m2. The evaluation of the degree of pulmonary hypertension in infants with CTGV and IVSD should therefore be based not only on the absolute values of PC, EC, and TPR but also on such differential-diagnostic signs as the PC/SC, EC/SC, and EC/PC ratios.