Abstract
Objective:To explore a differential diagnosis strategy for the causes of coronary artery dilatation (CAD) in infants.Methods: Clinical and echocardiography data for 243 infants with CAD from the Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University were analyzed retrospectively. The patients were divided into congenital and acquired groups according to the CAD causes.Results: The lesion detection rate for CAD in 22,925 infants who underwent echocardiography was 1.06% (243/22,925). The acquired group accounted for 84.77% (206/243) of participants, all of which had Kawasaki disease. The congenital group accounted for 15.23% (37/243) of patients, including coronary artery fistula [12.35% (30/243)], anomalous origin of the coronary artery [2.06% (5/243)], severe pulmonary stenosis [0.41% (1/243)], and moderate aortic stenosis [0.41% (1/243)]. There was no significant difference in the Z-score for CAD between the two groups of children (P>0.05). There were differences in the scope and shape of CAD between the two groups (all P<0. 05). Acquired causes mainly manifested as segmental dilatation, while congenital causes manifested as tubular dilatation. The sensitivity and specificity of segmental dilatation in predicting acquired causes were 97.57% and 100%, respectively, and that of tubular dilatation in predicting congenital causes were 97.30% and 98.06%, respectively. Conclusion: It is particularly important to diagnose the cause of CAD because its treatment depends on its etiology. When an echocardiography examination identifies CAD in infants, comprehensive and systematic analysis can quickly and accurately determine the cause of CAD according to the diagnostic strategy process and evaluation of dilatation and cardiac structure characteristics.