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Cross sectional echocardiographic and angiocardiographic correlation in criss cross hearts
Insights
Cross-sectional echocardiography accurately diagnoses congenital heart disease, including criss-cross hearts, non-invasively. This method can replace invasive procedures for definitive anatomical assessment in experienced hands.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Medical Imaging
- Pediatric Cardiology
Background:
- Congenital heart diseases (CHDs) require accurate diagnosis.
- Criss-cross heart, a rare CHD, presents diagnostic challenges.
- Non-invasive imaging modalities are crucial for CHD assessment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the efficacy of cross-sectional echocardiography in diagnosing criss-cross hearts.
- To compare echocardiographic diagnoses with invasive cardiac catheterization and cineangiocardiography.
- To assess the non-invasive diagnostic potential of echocardiography for complex CHDs.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional echocardiography was performed on eight consecutive patients with criss-cross hearts.
- Echocardiographic findings were compared with cardiac catheterization and cineangiocardiography results.
- Diagnostic accuracy and the need for invasive studies were analyzed.
Main Results:
- Cross-sectional echocardiography achieved complete anatomical diagnosis in all patients.
- The characteristic crossing of ventricular inflows was visualized non-invasively.
- Identification of ventricular morphology was more straightforward with cineangiocardiography.
- The mean number of invasive studies required decreased significantly.
Conclusions:
- Cross-sectional echocardiography is a reliable non-invasive tool for diagnosing criss-cross hearts.
- Experienced clinicians can achieve a complete diagnosis in a single session.
- Echocardiography offers a valuable alternative to multiple invasive diagnostic procedures for CHDs.
Abstract:
Cross sectional echocardiography can provide accurate anatomical diagnosis in congenital heart diseases and therefore should be able reliably to identify criss cross hearts and enable the analysis of their sequential arrangement non-invasively. The cross sectional echocardiographic diagnoses in eight consecutive patients with this condition were compared with those made at cardiac catheterisation and cineangiocardiography (five retrospectively, three prospectively). The mean number of invasive studies required to reach the diagnosis was 1.9 (range 1-4). Complete anatomical diagnosis was achieved with cross sectional echocardiography in all patients, but identification of ventricular morphology was much more straightforward using cineangiocardiography. If the transducer was held steady in either a precordial or subcostal position and rocked anteriorly and posteriorly the characteristic crossing over of the ventricular inflows could easily be seen. In no plane was there normal parallel arrangement of ventricular inflows. A complete diagnosis should be possible in these patients using cross sectional echocardiography in experienced hands and at a single session in the cardiac catheterisation laboratory.