FRIDAY, June 24 (HealthDay News) -- Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) using a feed-and-swaddle approach does not require deep sedation or cardiac anesthesia, and can be used to evaluate aortic arch abnormalities in infants, according to a study published in the July 1 issue of The American Journal of Cardiology.
Mark A. Fogel, M.D., from the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and colleagues investigated whether CMR can be used to diagnose aortic arch anomalies in infants aged 6 months or less without the use of cardiac anesthesia or deep sedation. Data were compared from 24 infants who underwent the feed-and-swaddle protocol for CMR, and 19 infants who underwent computed tomography (CT) angiography.
The investigators found that the average imaging time was significantly higher for infants undergoing CMR compared to CT angiography (6.2 versus 0.08 minutes), but the overall room times were similar for both groups. The diagnostic accuracy of CMR was 96 percent in the 23 infants who stayed asleep. Vascular ring was diagnosed in 15 patients, and, of the eight who underwent surgery, the diagnostic accuracy was 100 percent. In the CT group, six infants underwent deep sedation or cardiac anesthesia. The average radiation dose from the CT was 1.41 mSv.
"CMR evaluation of aortic arch anomalies in children less than 6 months old can be successfully completed quickly using a feed-and-swaddle approach with high diagnostic accuracy. This protocol avoids the risks of sedation, as well as the radiation associated with CT angiography," the authors write.
Abstract
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