[Complete transposition of great vessels: clinical aspects, diagnosis, echocardiography]

The paper reports the study of 12 patients admitted to hospital between January 1992 and October 1994. The patients were almost all neonates. Clinical, electrocardiographic and radiological data led to the suspected diagnosis of complete transposition of the great vessels. 2-D echocardiography consistently showed the parallel disposition of great vessels, the anterior position of the aorta compared to the pulmonary artery, the origin of the pulmonary artery from the left ventricle and the aorta from the right ventricle, all of which are the anatomopathological characteristics of this congenital cardiopathy, together with associated malformations, thus enabling a certain diagnosis to be made. The authors underline the value of echocardiography in the diagnosis of complete transposition of the great vessels.