title: Prospective ECG-gated high-pitch dual-source cardiac CT angiography in the diagnosis of congenital cardiovascular abnormalities: Radiation dose and diagnostic efficacy in a pediatric population.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The goal of this study was to investigate the radiation dose and diagnostic efficacy of cardiac computed tomography angiography (CCTA) using prospective ECG-gated high-pitch dual-source computed tomography (DSCT) in the diagnosis of congenital cardiovascular abnormalities in pediatric population.
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred five pediatric patients who were clinically diagnosed with congenital heart disease with suspected extracardiac vascular abnormalities were included in the study. All CCTAs were performed on a 128×2-section DSCT scanner. CCTA findings were compared with surgical and/or conventional cardiac angiography findings. Dose-length product (DLP) and effective doses (ED) were calculated for each patient. Patients were divided into 4 groups by age, and ED and DLP values were compared among groups. The image quality was evaluated using a five-point scale.
  
  
  RESULTS
  CCTA showed 173 abnormalities in 105 patients. There were 2 patients with false positive and 3 with false negative findings. The sensitivity and specificity of CCTA were 98.3% and 99.9%, respectively. The positive predictive value and negative predictive value of CCT were 98.9% and 99.9%, respectively. The average DLP and ED values were 15.6±9.6 (SD) mGy.cm and 0.34±0.10 (SD) mSv, respectively. The mean image quality score was 4.8±0.5 (SD) in all patients. The inter-observer agreement for the image quality scores was good (κ=0.80).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  CCTA is an excellent imaging modality for evaluation of cardiovascular abnormalities and provides excellent image quality with very low radiation exposure when low-dose prospective ECG-triggered high-pitch DSCT is used.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Medical Faculty, Selcuk University, Konya, Turkey. Electronic address: koplaymustafa@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Koplay
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Horasan Government Hospital, Erzurum, Turkey.
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Kizilca
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Cardiology, Medical Faculty, Selcuk University, Konya, Turkey.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cimen
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Medical Faculty, Selcuk University, Konya, Turkey.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sivri
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Medical Faculty, Selcuk University, Konya, Turkey.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Erdogan
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Cardiology, Medical Faculty, Selcuk University, Konya, Turkey.
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Guvenc
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Medical Faculty, Selcuk University, Konya, Turkey.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Oc
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Cardiology, Medical Faculty, Selcuk University, Konya, Turkey.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Oran
mesh_terms: D000015:Abnormalities, Multiple / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D000293:Adolescent; D055424:Cardiac-Gated Imaging Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D018376:Cardiovascular Abnormalities / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D000072226:Computed Tomography Angiography / Q000379:methods*; D017023:Coronary Angiography / Q000379:methods*; D006330:Heart Defects, Congenital / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
keywords: Cardiac CT; Cardiovascular; Congenital; Dual-source CT; Prospective ECG-triggered