Echocardiography and 64-multislice computed tomography angiography in diagnosing coronary artery fistula.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSES: 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.

CONCLUSION

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.