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Incidence and appearances of coronary sinus anomalies in adults on cardiac CT

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Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this study was to analyze the frequency and appearances of coronary sinus (CS) anomalies on cardiac computed tomography (CT) of adult patients and to compare them with transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) findings.

Methods

We retrospectively evaluated cardiac CT images for the presence of CS anomalies in 6936 adult patients who underwent imaging from April 1 2008 to March 31 2015 at our institution. We also reviewed and compared with TTE findings for the cases of CS anomalies.

Results

CS anomalies were diagnosed in 23 of the 6936 (0.33 %) and included persistence of the left superior vena cava (PLSVC) in 19 cases, unroofed CS (UCS) in two, coronary artery-CS fistula in two, and CS atresia in one. TTE revealed CS dilatation in only five of the 16 cases of PLSVC and suggested CS anomaly in the two cases of coronary artery-CS fistula. The other cases of CS anomaly were detected incidentally on CT.

Conclusion

The incidence of CS anomalies was 0.33 %. Precise diagnosis of CS anomalies with TTE and the original transverse images on cardiac CT alone was difficult for some conditions. We should be alert for the presence of CS anomalies which can cause clinical or procedural complications.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to show their greatest appreciation to Tohru Sekiya, the president of Nitobe Bunka College, for insightful comments and suggestions.

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Correspondence to Kotaro Ouchi.

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The authors have no conflict of interest directly relevant to the content of this article.

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Ouchi, K., Sakuma, T., Kawai, M. et al. Incidence and appearances of coronary sinus anomalies in adults on cardiac CT. Jpn J Radiol 34, 684–690 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11604-016-0574-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11604-016-0574-y

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