Is left heart catheterization by the transbronchial route safe and useful for the study of cardiovascular defects?
The transbronchial method for left heart catheterization is reported as a safe technique, with over 500 procedures performed without serious complications.
Left heart catheterization is proving of increasing importance in the study of a variety of congenital and acquired cardiovascular defects. More than 500 left heart catheterizations have been performed by the transbronchial method without death or serious sequelae. This technic and its usefulness in clinical investigation and in the assessment of valvular heart disease are described.
Morrow et al. (1957) studied this question.