[Clinical features of coarctation of aorta: analysis of 96 cases]

To investigate the clinical features of coarctation of aorta (CoA).

The clinical data of 96 pediatric patients with CoA, 60 male and 36 female, aged 3.7 months (7 - 12 years), were analyzed.

The male to female ratio was 1.7:1. Infants aged less than 6 months accounted for 60% (57/96). The proportion of CoA in all hospitalized patients with congenital heart diseases admitted in this hospital was 0.5% (5/924) in 1996, increased every year, and reached 4.3% (15/330) in 2005. The coarctation was situated at the distal end of the left subclavian artery opposite to or near the ductus arteriosus in 93 cases, between the left common carotid artery and left subclavian artery in 2 cases, and at the opening of the left subclavian artery in 1 case. Thirteen patients (4%) suffered only from CoA, 47 patients were complicated with patent ductus arteriosus (PDA, 47/96, 49%) and/or ventricular septum defect (VSD, 47/96, 49%), 22 of the 96 patients (23%) complicated with both PDA and VSD. Eighty-nine cases were diagnosed by echocardiography, however, echocardiography failed to diagnose CoA in 7 cases (7.3%). Fifty-five patients underwent surgical repair and 2 of them died with a mortality of 3.8%. Seven patients with large VSD and severe pulmonary hypertension underwent two-stage repair. Immediate post-operative echocardiography showed satisfactory outcome.

The morbidity of CoA among Chinese is similar to that among the Western population. Most of the coarctation is situated at the distal end of the left subclavian artery opposite to or near the ductus arteriosus, and most of the cases are complicated by PDA and/or VSD. Echocardiography is the first choice in the diagnosis of CoA; however, angiography is still necessary in some cases. Primary radical operation is indicated for infants with CoA, but older patients, especially those complicated with VSD and severe pulmonary hypertension, should undergo two-stage procedure.