Total anomalous pulmonary venous connection in children: Preoperative evaluation with low-dose multidetector computed tomographic angiography

Abstract

We report the results of our retrospective evaluation, from February 2011 through August 2014, of the anatomic features of total anomalous pulmonary venous connection (TAPVC) and its associated cardiovascular anomalies in a pediatric population. In all 43 patients under study (23 female; average age, 9 mo [range, 4 d–7.1 yr]), these examinations had been performed with a dual-source 256-detector scanner. The type of TAPVC, the presence of obstruction, and the association with other cardiovascular anomalies were investigated and recorded. In accordance with the absence or presence of these accompanying anomalies, patients were subdivided into 2 groups: isolated and complex. In the 43 patients, 22 (51%) TAPVCs were supracardiac, 10 (23%) were cardiac, 6 (14%) were infracardiac, and 5 (12%) were mixed. Obstruction was detected in 7 patients. Seventeen patients were in the isolated group and 26 in the complex group. The diagnostic agreements between multidetector computed tomographic angiographic and surgical results were 100% in both the isolated and complex groups. The overall average effective radiation dose was 0.66 mSv (range, 0.15–1.11 mSv); and it was 0.52 mSv (range, 0.12–0.72 mSv) in patients younger than 1 year of age. We conclude that computed tomographic angiography with a dual-source 256-slice multidetector scanner is a reliable imaging method that enables, despite lower radiation doses, the detailed and comprehensive anatomic imaging of TAPVC in neonates and children.