Immediate Outcomes of Balloon Angioplasty for Coarctation of the Aorta in infants and children

Background: Coarctation of the aorta (CoA) is one amongst commonest congenital heart diseases (CHD) which reuires early intervention to avoid morbidity and mortality. Balloon angioplasty (BA) can be offered in place of surgery in selected cases. Aim: To evaluate the safety of procedure and efficacy of catheter intervention balloon angioplasty for CoA as an alternative to surgery and to identify the factors related with poor outcome of the intervention in infants and children Methods: The study was a retrospective observational cohort study of 46 infants and children undergoing BAS during a six-year period (Jan 2014 to May 2020). Demographic detail history and investigation including echo and ECG were collected for all the patients. Immediate pre and post procedure complications were noted. Results: Forty six (46) children and infant patients , underwent balloon angioplasty 29 were male and 17 were female. Patients were divided into two groups. Group A included patient with successful outcome and group B included those with suboptimal results. Characteristics of both groups we studied. In group A the median age was 6.3 years and median weight was 15 kg whereas in group B median age was 3.5 years and median weight was 9 kg. Forty patients had native CoA (86.9%) while six patients were post op (13%). There was no mortality. One patient had a small aneurysmal formation (3%). Four patients had a transitive loss of pulse. Thirty-four patients had a successful outcome (73.9%) while twelve patients had a suboptimal result (26%). Conclusion: Coarctation angioplasty has good early outcome and it can be considered as a sustainable alternative to surgery in critical infants and children patients high risk of mortality with surgery. wise selection of patients, use of improved low-profile catheters and better patient care can reduce the complications and incidence of mortality. Keywords: Coarctation, Balloon angioplasty