title: Echocardiography and 64-multislice computed tomography angiography in diagnosing coronary artery fistula.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  There are various types of coronary artery fistula (CAF) with complex shapes; therefore, it is important to obtain a correct diagnosis and to understand its relations to the adjacent structures before surgery. This study evaluated echocardiography and 64-multislice computed tomography (64-MSCT) angiography in diagnosing CAF.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sixteen patients with CAF, confirmed by surgical operation or digital subtraction angiography, were examined by echocardiography. Five of them were further examined by 64-MSCT angiography for detailed anatomical information before surgery. The imaging data for echocardiography and 64-MSCT angiography were analyzed retrospectively.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among the 16 patients, 12 were correctly diagnosed by echocardiography, of whom five were confirmed by 64-MSCT angiography. Four cases missed diagnosis by echocardiography, and one of these was correctly diagnosed by 64-MSCT. Seventeen fistulae were found, of which, two appeared in one patient. Ten fistulae originated from the left coronary artery and seven from the right. The draining site was the right heart in eight, pulmonary artery in five, left heart in three and aorta in one.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Echocardiography can act as the routine examination of CAF, and 64-MSCT angiography can provide more detailed anatomical and pathological information for surgery than echocardiography.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Teaching Hospital, Fujian medical University, Xiamen, China.
authors.forename: Ping
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Guoxiang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.forename: Jianghua
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Yiqing
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Shaoyin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Duan
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001011:Aorta / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D001159:Arterio-Arterial Fistula / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology; D018376:Cardiovascular Abnormalities / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D017023:Coronary Angiography; D003326:Coronary Circulation; D003331:Coronary Vessels / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D042241:Early Diagnosis; D004452:Echocardiography; D005260:Female; D006325:Heart Atria / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011651:Pulmonary Artery / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed