OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the feasibility, image quality and impact of 3D imaging in low-dose high-pitch dual-source computed tomography (DSCT) to assess arbitrary anatomical malformations of the aortic arch in children <1 year of age with congenital heart disease (CHD).
METHODS:Between January 2010 and May 2013, DSCT was performed to assess the aortic arch anatomy in a total of 62 consecutive patients with CHD (aged 0-348 days). DSCT was used whenever conventional echocardiography was not sufficient to display the complex anatomy entirely. Image data acquisition was realized within a single cardiac cycle using prospective ECG triggering. 3D reconstruction for surgical planning was performed. Image quality was assessed retrospectively, using a 4-point scale from '1 = no artefacts' to '4 = uninterpretable'. The accuracy and impact of the 3D reconstructions was compared with intraoperative findings using a 5-point scale (from '1 = essential' to '5 = misleading'). Administered radiation exposure was evaluated.
RESULTS:Imaging was successful in all patients, image quality was rated 1.34 on the 4-point scale and the impact of the 3D reconstructions for surgical planning was 2.05 on the 5-point scale. Mean dose-length product was 6.8 ± 2.6 mGy cm, and the effective dose was 0.45 ± 0.13 mSv (0.21-0.74).CONCLUSIONS: DSCT is a fast and appropriate imaging modality in the preoperative assessment of the aortic arch for surgical planning in CHD.
DSCT allows a very rapid scan speed, examinations are performed in spontaneously breathing patients, and the radiation exposure is relatively low. It is very valuable in the setting of complex surgery by revealing the position of anatomical structures in their relation to each other. Missing information can be acquired less invasively in addition to echocardiography and might replace cardiac catheterization for several morphological indications.
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