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Trends in the Use of Percutaneous Closure of Patent Foramen Ovale and Atrial Septal Defect in Adults, 1998-2004
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To the Editor: Percutaneous closure of patent foramen ovale/atrial septal defect (PFO/ASD) is perceived as having minimal risk and has been proposed for a broad array of indications.1 The widespread application of this procedure, especially PFO closure, is controversial because of limited data on its efficacy and safety in many settings, including prevention of recurrent cryptogenic stroke.2 We studied trends in the prevalence of PFO/ASD closure in the United States.
Methods
We analyzed data from 1998 through 2004 of the Nationwide Inpatient Sample, the largest publicly available all-payer US inpatient database; this stratified sample approximates a 20% sample of US community hospitals. The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania institutional review board granted an exemption for this study.
The cohort included participants aged 20 years or older with a procedure code from the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) designating "Repair of ASD with prosthesis, closed technique" (. . . [Full Text of this Article]
Alexander R. Opotowsky, MD, MPH
alexander.opotowsky@uphs.upenn.edu Department of Medicine University of Pennsylvania Medical Center Philadelphia
Michael J. Landzberg, MD
Department of Medicine Brigham and Women's Hospital Boston, Massachusetts
Stephen E. Kimmel, MD, MSCE;
Gary D. Webb, MD
Department of Medicine University of Pennsylvania Medical Center Philadelphia
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