Echocardiographic Diagnosis, Surgical Treatment, and Outcomes of Anomalous Left Coronary Artery from the Pulmonary Artery.

BACKGROUND: Anomalous left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery (ALCAPA) is a rare condition that can be difficult to diagnose by echocardiography alone. The purpose of this study was to describe the clinical and echocardiographic presentation of ALCAPA, create a set of critical echocardiographic diagnostic criteria, and report outcomes.

METHODS: A retrospective review was conducted of all patients diagnosed with isolated ALCAPA at two major cardiac centers between 1990 and 2015.

RESULTS: Of the 37 patients identified, only 54% presented in infancy. The anomalous coronary artery (CA) origin was clearly imaged in only 54% of echocardiographic examinations. However, other consistently identified echocardiographic markers were found, including left CA flow reversal (91%), collateral CA flow (85%), right CA dilation (81%), abnormal pulmonary artery flow (79%), mitral regurgitation (74%), left ventricular dysfunction (66%) and endocardial fibroelastosis (57%). Presenting echocardiograms had five of seven markers in 85% of patients. Left ventricular dysfunction was the most common marker in infants (89% vs 38%, P = .005); older children were more likely to have collateral formation visualized by color Doppler (100% vs 75%, P = .04). Following surgery, there were no early surgical deaths. The median follow-up duration was 10.3 years. At last follow-up, 92% had normal left ventricular function, 3% had moderate or worse mitral regurgitation, and 17% had required reintervention.

CONCLUSIONS: Echocardiographic markers can reliably identify ALCAPA; these markers vary with the age of presentation. Surgical outcomes are excellent, and most patients will recover left ventricular and mitral valve function.