Three dimensional Volume Rendered and Maximum Intensity Projections on MDCT provide enhanced delineation of complex cardiovascular and extra cardiac morphology for instituting the appropriate interventional or surgical management.

Echocardiography is the initial screening modality in a case of congenital heart disease. But the use of this modality is encumbered by the limited ability to delineate great arteries and extra cardiac anomalies, pulmonary veins and coronary arteries. Diagnostic cardiac catheterisation has small but well known risk and it is usually performed if echocardiography fails to provide a confident evaluation.1 MR imaging is often limited in evaluation of seriously ill or uncooperative patients, is contraindicated for patients with pacemaker, is time consuming and may require...

All the studies were performed on the reference of the paediatric cardiologists to answer specific questions raised by either an inconclusive echocardiographic or angiographic evaluation, and for evaluation of the pulmonary vasculature and extracardiac anomalies. Pulmonary Angiography was performed on 128 slice CT. A collimation of 64 X 0.625mm, slice thickness 0.9mm, pitch 0.8, rotation time 0.5second,120 kV,100 mAs was used with a 512 matrix. The dose (1-2mg/kg) of contrast material (Ioversol 300mg) and the rate (2.5ml/second at a PSI of 150-200) of intravenous administration...

Even today Level II antepartum scans are not a routine at many places. As a result, many congenital heart diseases go undetected. Moreover, patients with these anomalies may have distorted thoracic cage anatomy and/or cardiac malposition that limit the usefulness of echocardiogram. These patients benefit immensely by MDCT. Low dose MDCT with paediatric protocol has the advantage of less radiation in patients who are going for repeated studies for congenital heart disease. There is better delineation of aortic and pulmonary vessels morphology by three dimensional...

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