Color flow Doppler in the diagnosis of double-chambered right ventricle: a demographic and echocardiographic study.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the demographic and echocardiographic data of patients diagnosed with double-chambered right ventricle and attempt to explain a perceived rise in the incidence. Double-chambered right ventricle (DCRV) is a division of the right ventricle into two chambers by a hypertrophied muscle bundle. The medical records of patients diagnosed with DCRV were reviewed, and demographic, echocardiographic, and catheterization data were tabulated. Annual incidence of DCRV, based on year of birth, was compared to yearly detection rate, based on year of DCRV diagnosis. To evaluate the influence of color flow Doppler on the frequency of diagnosis of DCRV, demographics of patients born prior to September 1986 (when utilization of color Doppler began in our institution) were compared to those born after that date. Despite an unchanged annual incidence of DCRV, yearly detection rate of this lesion rose significantly following the introduction of color flow Doppler to our institution (September 1986). DCRV was diagnosed earlier and was accompanied by earlier catheterization, which also showed lower right ventricular body gradients after September 1986. Associated anomalies, both cardiac and noncardiac, in our population differed from those reported in previous series. This study infers that the advent of color flow Doppler significantly enhanced the diagnosis of DCRV in our pediatric patients and led to a perceived rise in incidence.