Assessment of coronary artery aneurysms in paediatric patients with Kawasaki disease by multidetector row CT angiography: feasibility and comparison with 2D echocardiography

Background Transthoracic ECHO is the locally accepted method for coronary surveillance of patients with Kawasaki disease but it may have limited visualization in the older child. Objective To assess the feasibility of multidetector CT (MDCT) angiography in the follow-up of coronary artery aneurysms in children with previous Kawasaki disease. Materials and methods Six children (5 boys, 1 girl; mean age 11.5 years) with known Kawasaki disease and coronary artery involvement underwent CT coronary angiography using 16-detector MDCT. The visualized lengths and diameter of all coronary segments were measured. The number, size and location of coronary artery aneurysms were recorded and compared with recent ECHO. Results Twelve coronary artery aneurysms (seven saccular, five fusiform) were identified by MDCT angiography. One saccular aneurysm at the junction of the distal right coronary artery and posterior descending artery was not detected by ECHO while the remaining six in proximal segments were detected by both modalities. Two of five fusiform aneurysms were not detected by ECHO due to their small sizes. Excellent agreement was found between CT and ECHO for maximal diameter and length of the visualized aneurysms. Conclusions MDCT angiography accurately defines coronary artery aneurysms. It is more sensitive for detecting aneurysms at distal coronary segments and fusiform aneurysms of small size. Presented at the 5th International Pediatric Radiology Conjoint Meeting, Montreal, Canada, May 2006.