[Clinical valuation color Doppler echocardiography for diagnosis of coronary artery fistula].

The purpose of this study was to investigate the advantages of color Doppler echocardiography in the diagnosis of congenital coronary artery fistula. Twenty-one patients with coronary artery fistula ranging in age from 3 to 28 years underwent color Doppler echocardiographic study 1991.4-1996.8. When a coronary artery fistula was found, the origin, the course and the drainage site were carefully searched for to make a precise diagnosis. Color Doppler echocardiographic diagnosis of all patients were confirmed by cardiac operation on cardioangiography. The results indicate that color Doppler echocardiography can provide a panoramic view of coronary artery and the fistulous vessel with precise definition of the origin, the course of draingae site of the fistula. Therefore, it is the noninvasive method of first choice to diagnose congenital coronary artery fistula.