Clinical value of ECG-gated dual-source computed tomography and angiography in assessing pulmonary atresia with ventricular septal defect

The purpose of this study is to explore the clinical value of ECG-gated dual-source CT angiography (DSCTA) in evaluating pulmonary atresia with ventricular septal defect (PA-VSD). We carried out retrospective analysis on 20 patients who had DSCTA with PA-VSD. The emphasis of the work was on analyzing the types of PA-VSD, pulmonary artery development, major aorto-pulmonary artery collateral arteries (MAPCAs) and associated intra- and extra-cardiac malformations. In the 20 cases of PA-VSD, there were 6 cases of type A , 13 cases of type B, and 1 case of type C. 12 cases of the patients had patent ductus arteriosus (PDA). The pulmonary blood flow was mainly supplied by PDA in 6 cases and by MAPCAs in the rest of 14 cases. The diameter of MAPCAs was (7.2 +/- 3.4) mm (range, 2.0-14.3 mm). The experiments proved that ECG-gated DSCTA was a convenient and noninvasive cardiovascular imaging method, and it could accurately evaluate the types of PA-VSD, pulmonary artery development, MAPCAs, and it could also provide detailed anatomic information before surgery.