Multimodal Assessment and Intramodal Comparison of Imaging Techniques for Pediatric Pulmonary Vein Stenosis with Pulmonary Hypertension.

ABSTRACT

Pulmonary vein stenosis (PVS) is a rare, serious, and progressive disease in the pediatric population. Evaluation is complex and involves multimodality imaging. Diagnosis is important as early treatment to prevent progressive pulmonary hypertension and right ventricular dysfunction is essential. Adult studies have shown good correlation between various imaging modalities; however, there are limited data in children. This is a single-center retrospective pilot study to determine the reliability of measurement of pulmonary vein stenosis and pulmonary hypertension across different imaging modalities-computed tomography angiography (CTA), echocardiography (echo), lung perfusion scan (LPS), and cardiac catheterization (cath). PVS was defined as > 2 mmHg by echo and cath and/or 50% reduction in diameter by CTA. Patients had to have an echo, CTA and cath performed within a 1-month timeframe of one another to be included in the study, with LPS data included if testing was completed at initial evaluation. Fifteen total patients were enrolled; 87% were categorized as primary PVS; a condition not directly related to direct injury or prior surgical intervention. Twenty-seven total stenotic pulmonary veins were identified (mean 1.8, range 1-4). CTA had a slightly better agreement with cath than echo in identifying PVS in different vein locations except in the LLPV. Additionally, echo and CTA had excellent sensitivity (91%) and specificity (100%) compared to cath for diagnosis of PH. We conclude that non-invasive imaging of echo and CTA has an acceptable correlation to cardiac catheterization for screening and initial evaluation of PVS and PH, as directly related to PVS, in pediatrics.