Abstract

MOSQUERA A, Walter et al. Utility of computed axial tomography angiography in anatomic evaluation of pediatric patients with congenital heart diseases. Rev. Col. Cardiol. [online]. 2007, vol.14, n.5, pp.331-336. ISSN 0120-5633.

Antecedents: although echocardiogram and cardiac catheterization are used as first option tools for congenital heart diseases diagnosis, computed tomography angiography is a minimally invasive exam that through two to three dimensional images in real time gives an adequate approach to patients having this type of pathologies that require a rapid and precise evaluation of its extracardiac anatomy. Objective: describe the institutional experience from August 2005 to August 2006 in the use of angiography by tomography as a complementary diagnostic method in the evaluation of pediatric patients with congenital heart diseases. Method: serial descriptive study. 58 pediatric patients with clinical and echocardiographic diagnosis of congenital heart diseases were evaluated through the General Electric Multislice Lightpeed/16 scanner. Results: 58 patients with history of congenital heart disease were evaluated through CT angiography. Mean age was 2.4 ± 4.03 years. Twenty (33.8%) had diagnosis of pulmonary atresia, four (6.7%) had tricuspid atresia, eight (13.5%) had double-outlet right ventricle, seven (11.8%) had tetralogy of Fallot, nine (15.2%) had alterations of the aortic arch, seven (11.8%) had coarctation of the aorta, two (3.3%) had interrupted aortic arch, six (10.3%) had persistent ductus arteriosus, four (6.7%) had anomalous venous drainage and three (5.1%) had transposition of the great arteries. High quality images that allowed assessing the precise vascular anatomy were obtained. Conclusions: computed tomography angiography turned out to be a useful tool in the diagnostic approach of congenital heart diseases, because it allowed a tridimensional anatomic reconstruction. New studies that may permit the assessment of sensitivity, specificity and concordance level of this technique with other invasive diagnostic methods available for the diagnosis of this type of diseases, are required.

Keywords : angiography; computed tomography; anatomical evaluation; congenital heart diseases.

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