Prevalence and morphologic features of dual left anterior descending artery subtypes in coronary CT angiography.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to identify the prevalence of dual left anterior descending artery and define the morphological features using coronary computed tomography angiography in order to raise awareness of dual left anterior descending artery among radiologists. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The radiologic reports of 1912 patients who underwent coronary computed tomography angiography at our institution were searched retrospectively for the presence of dual left anterior descending artery. Computed tomography images of patients with dual left anterior descending artery were then reviewed, and the morphological features of dual left anterior descending artery were evaluated. RESULTS: Dual left anterior descending artery was identified in 1.3% of the patients in this study population. Type 1 dual left anterior descending artery was the most common subtype (76%). Four additional cases that were not classified before were also detected. CONCLUSION: Dual left anterior descending artery has a variety of subtypes reported mostly as odd cases, and gaining diagnostic awareness of dual left anterior descending artery is more critical, rather than listing and counting the subtypes. With the widespread use of coronary computed tomography angiography, it has become essential for radiologists to have knowledge about dual left anterior descending artery, as it is vital, especially for surgical planning.

Surgical outcomes for anomalous left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery: Influence of late presentation.

OBJECTIVES: Although surgical outcomes for anomalous left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery (ALCAPA) are excellent in the modern era with the coronary reimplantantion technique, mortality remains high in Chinese population. This study was undertaken to review the surgical management for ALCAPA in our center and assess the midterm outcomes. METHODS: This was a retrospective review of 105 patients who underwent surgical repair for ALCAPA from January 2008 to January 2018. RESULTS: The diagnosis of ALCAPA was not made before referred to our hospital in 31 patients (30%). Median age at repair was 7.6 months (interquartile range, 4.3-25.4 months). Mean preoperative left ventricular ejection fraction was 47.3% ± 16.9%. Concomitant mitral intervention was performed in 52 patients (50%). Mechanical circulatory support was used in 15 patients (14%). Early mortality was 14%. Classification and regression tree analysis identified 3 risk groups for early mortality, among which patients with preoperative left ventricular ejection fraction ≤41.6% and age at repair >127 days were the most likely to suffer from mortality. Using nonlinear mixed-effect model to assess the time course for postoperative left ventricular ejection fraction, patients of this group also needed significantly longer time for recovery of left ventricular function after surgery (P < .0001). CONCLUSIONS: Late referral of patients with ALCAPA is not uncommon in our center. Older age at repair in patients with preoperative left ventricular dysfunction is the main reason for higher early mortality, and is also associated with longer time to normalization of left ventricular function after surgery.