title: Feasibility of low radiation dose retrospectively-gated cardiac CT for functional analysis in adult congenital heart disease.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The use of cardiac computed tomography (CT) in the evaluation of adult congenital heart disease patients is limited due to concerns of high radiation doses. The purpose of this study was to prospectively assess whether low radiation dose cardiac CT is feasible to evaluate ventricular systolic function in adults with congenital heart disease.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study group included 30 consecutive patients with significant congenital heart disease who underwent a total of 35 ECG-gated cardiac CT scans utilizing a 320-detector row CT scanner. Each study included a non-contrast scan and subsequent contrast-enhanced retrospectively-gated acquisition. Effective radiation dose was estimated by multiplying the dose length product by a k-factor of 0.014mSv/mGycm.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean age of the patients was 34.4±8.9years, 60% were men, and mean body mass index was 24.2±4.3kg/m2. A majority of patients (n=28, 93.3%) had contraindications to cardiac MRI. A tube potential of 80kV was used in 27 (77.1%) of the contrast-enhanced scans. The mean signal-to-noise and contrast-to-noise ratios were 11.5±3.9 and 10.3±3.7, respectively. The median radiation dose for non-contrast and contrast-enhanced images were 0.1mSv (0.07-0.2mSv) and 0.94mSv (0.5-2.1mSv), respectively. All 35 CT scans were successfully analyzed for ventricular systolic function.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A low radiation contrast-enhanced, retrospectively-gated cardiac CT with a median radiation dose of less than 1mSv was successful in evaluating ventricular systolic function in 30 consecutive adult congenital heart disease patients who underwent a total of 35 scans.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health and Human Services, Advanced Cardiovascular Imaging Laboratory, Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Branch, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Daniel W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Groves
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Children's National Medical Center, Washington, DC, USA.
authors.forename: Laura J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Olivieri
authors.affiliation: Department of Health and Human Services, Advanced Cardiovascular Imaging Laboratory, Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Branch, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Sujata M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Shanbhag
authors.affiliation: Department of Health and Human Services, Advanced Cardiovascular Imaging Laboratory, Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Branch, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Kathie C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Bronson
authors.affiliation: Department of Health and Human Services, Advanced Cardiovascular Imaging Laboratory, Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Branch, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Jeannie H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Department of Health and Human Services, Advanced Cardiovascular Imaging Laboratory, Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Branch, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Evan A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Nelson
authors.affiliation: Department of Health and Human Services, Advanced Cardiovascular Imaging Laboratory, Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Branch, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Shirley F
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Rollison
authors.affiliation: Department of Health and Human Services, Advanced Cardiovascular Imaging Laboratory, Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Branch, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Michael S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Stagliano
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Children's National Medical Center, Washington, DC, USA.
authors.forename: Anitha S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: John
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Children's National Medical Center, Washington, DC, USA.
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kuehl
authors.affiliation: Department of Health and Human Services, Advanced Cardiovascular Imaging Laboratory, Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Branch, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA. Electronic address: chenmy@nhlbi.nih.gov.
authors.forename: Marcus Y
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D055424:Cardiac-Gated Imaging Techniques; D003287:Contrast Media; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006330:Heart Defects, Congenital / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media
keywords: Adult congenital heart disease; Cardiac computed tomography; Radiation dose; Systolic function