Congenital heart disease in children

Abstract

The use of cross-sectional imaging modalities, computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), plays a key role in overcoming the diagnostic challenges of coronary artery imaging in children by avoiding the diagnostic pitfalls of echocardiography and by reducing risks related to catheter coronary angiography. With the advent of multi-detector CT (MDCT), and more recently Dual Source CT (DSCT), cardiovascular CT angiography (CCTA) has expanded the role of noninvasive methods for the evaluation of congenital heart disease (CHD) in children, because of its high diagnostic advantages for assessing cardiovascular anatomy and extracardiac abnormalities, with a low radiation dose. Particularly in the emergency setting and pre/postoperatively, CCTA has become the preferred technique due to its short examination times and ubiquitous availability. In this review, we summarize evidence-based recommendations implemented in clinical practice in our institution for the evaluation of coronary arteries and CHD in children.