Type:
Educational Exhibit
Keywords:
Performed at one institution, Not applicable, Education and training, Congenital, Normal variants, Education, Diagnostic procedure, CT, Cardiovascular system, Cardiac, Arteries / Aorta, Paediatric
Authors:
M. Pop, I. P. simu; Targu Mures/RO
DOI:
10.26044/ecr2020/C-08753
Findings and procedure details
CT angiography represent an extremely useful complementary method in the diagnosis of congenital abnormalities of the aortic arch in pediatric patients, regardless of their age.
It is a fast, non-invasive procedure, requiring small quantities of intravenous contrast, with decreasing radiation doses.
It enables the diagnose the studied anomalies in an efficient and precise way, with excellent correlation to the surgery findings.
According to SCCT guidelines performing cardiac CT for CHD requires
an in depth knowledge of the patient history, prior intervention(s), common hemodynamic sequelae, and the clinical question(s) to be answered by the study. The scan range, acquisition parameters, desired image quality, and the degree of radiation dose reduction will vary greatly depending on the patient and clinical indication[1].
Congenital abnormalities of the aortic arch (AA) are generally found in children, but sometimes they are discovered later in adulthood. Many of these abnormalities are asymptomatic but some are symptomatic, presenting with an acute onset and need to be treated.
As a radiologist we have to be familiar with these anomalies.
Although echocardiography can provide the diagnosis, Computed Tomography (CT) is especially helpful in patients requiring evaluation of complex anatomy and, if required, extra-cardiac anatomy, with a focus on lung parenchyma or skeletal disorders.