Diagnosis of coronary artery anatomy by two-dimensional echocardiography in patients with transposition of the great arteries.

Abstract

With the increasing popularity of the Jatene procedure for the treatment of common or D-transposition of the great arteries (D-TGA), the preoperative definition of coronary artery anatomy in D-TGA has assumed great importance. Consequently, the reliability of two-dimensional echocardiography for determining the coronary artery anatomy was studied in 32 infants with D-TGA. Surgical observation of the coronary anatomy was used to assess the accuracy of the echocardiographic diagnosis. The coronary arteries were visualized in 29 of 32 patients (90%), predominantly with the use of parasternal and apical views. In the three remaining patients visualization of the coronary arteries was inadequate to allow determination of their anatomy. The coronary artery anatomy was correctly predicted in 25 of the 29 patients in whom the coronary arteries were visualized. The anatomic patterns included usual coronary anatomy for D-TGA (n = 16), left circumflex coronary from the right coronary artery (n = 6), single right coronary artery (n = 1), single left coronary artery (n = 1), and inverted origin of the coronary arteries (n = 1). The errors in the remaining four patients were (1) false-negative diagnosis of origin of the left circumflex coronary from the right coronary artery (n = 1); (2) false-positive diagnosis of origin of the left circumflex coronary from the right coronary artery (n = 1), and (3) diagnosis of origin of the left circumflex coronary from the right coronary artery when the correct diagnosis was single right coronary artery (n = 2).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)