Multislice helical CT diagnosis of the pediatric congenital tracheal bronchus

Objective: To evaluate the value of multislice helical CT (MSCT) in diagnosis of pediatric congenital tracheal bronchus (CTB), and to introduce the classification and clinical significance of CTB. Methods: All 43 patients were examined with plain chest film and MSCT. All patients were scanned on GE 16-slice lightspeed scanner, using 10 mm collimation, and reconstructed at 1.25mm intervals and 1.25 mm thickness. Minimum intensity projection (minIP), Volume-rendered image (VR), Shaded-surface display(SSD) and Virtual bronchoscopy (VB) were all reconstructed on workstation. The involved tracheal and bronchus, relationship with around organs, and other anomalies were recorded. Results: On CT reconstruction images, all 43 patients demonstrated CTB which were found in 37 cases on CT axial scan images and in 1 case on chest radiographs. 38 patients were with congenital heart disease (CHD); 40 CTB were on right side, 3 CTB were on both sides; 9 cases were with airway stenosis, 2 cases had symptom with tracheal intubation in a deep location. Conclusions: CTB is a rare congenital anomaly in children. MSCT is of value for assessing CTB as well as the relationship between airway and adjacent structures. (authors)