Treadmill exercise test and cold water face-immersion test were performed in 50 patients with tetralogy of Fallot at a mean age of 11.9 years, an average of 8.2 years after intracardiac repair. Cardiac catheterization was also performed in 45 patients 0.5-11 years after the repair.
Exercise performance and results of catheterization were compared in patients with and without ventricular premature contraction (VPC) . In 22 (44%) of the 50 patients, VPC was induced by treadmill and/or cold water face-immersion test. Compared with the other 28 patients, the patients who had VPC during the tests, 1) were older (13.6 versus 10.6 years, p< 0.05, t-test) and were tested at a longer interval after repair of tetralogy of Fallot (9.5 versus 7.3 years, p<0.05), 2) showed no difference in the results of catheterization, and 3) had lower exercise performance.
Cold water face-immersion test is therefore considered to be useful for evaluation of patients after intracardiac repair of tetralogy of Fallot.