PREOPERATIVE DIAGNOSIS OF CARDIAC DEFECTS IN NEWBORNS

Operations were performed on 495 newborns at the Prague-Motol Paediatric Heart Centre, between 1984 and 1988. In 1984, indications for cardiac surgery on one third of newborns were based solely on echocardiography without catheterisation. In 1988, no preoperative catheterisation was required by 84 percent of all newborns and 72 percent of infants. Echocardiography-related diagnostic errors of significance were not observed. Non-invasive echocardiography has been increasingly used in preoperative examinations, while invasive catheterisation has been primarily reserved for therapeutic interventions.