Abstract

Although Ultrasonic Cardiography (UCG) is effective, non-invasive, and the most commonly used examination method for Congenital Heart Disease (CHD), other modern medical imaging modalities such as Computed Tomography (CT) are needed to further clarify the disease before surgical intervention. To explore the clinical value of CT in diagnosis of complicated CHD in neonates and infants compared with UCG, 103 neonates and infants with clinically diagnosed complicated CHD underwent cardiac CT angiography (CTA) with a 64-slice CT scanner. UCG and surgical operations were performed in all patients, and 22 patients received Diagnostic Cardiac Catheterization (DCC). The accuracy rate of CTA was higher than that of UCG in detecting deformities of complicated CHD. CTA was as accurate as UCG in revealing intracardiac deformities but superior to UCG in identifying extracardiac deformities. Combining UCG with CTA could improve the definite diagnostic rate of deformities to 99.53%. In the 22 patients who received DCC, CTA was as accurate as DCC in revealing cardiac deformities. CTA with a 64-slice CT is a credible technique for diagnosis of complicated CHD in neonates and infants. After initial assessment with UCG, CTA can be used to replace DCC for further accurate clarifications.

Key words: Congenital heart disease, 64-slice CT, ultrasonic cardiography, diagnostic imaging.