Left atrial appendage: variations in morphology and position causing pitfalls in pediatric echocardiographic diagnosis.
The left atrial appendage is a complex structure that exhibits great variability in structure and form. Hence, it may masquerade as several other cardiac structures by echocardiography and cause errors in diagnosis. This report critically reviews the pitfalls that result in misinterpretation of normal and abnormal anatomy in a pediatric echocardiogram, and discusses and illustrates potential misdiagnoses and methods to avoid them.
Ramaswamy
Prema
P
Division of Pediatric Cardiology, Maimonides Medical Center, New York, New York, USA. pramaswamy@maimonidesmed.org <pramaswamy@maimonidesmed.org>
Lytrivi
Irene D
ID
Srivastava
Shubhika
S
Sharma
Sangeeta
S
Ko
H Helen
HH
Parness
Ira A
IA
Lai
Wyman W
WW
D016477:Artifacts; D020517:Atrial Appendage / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D002648:Child; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004452:Echocardiography / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D010372:Pediatrics / Q000379:methods*; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'