Washington, July 18 : Recent technological advancements in coronary computed tomography angiography have significantly reduced the anesthesia and invasive access risk associated with the treatment for children, according to a new study.

B. Kelly Han, MD, a pediatric cardiologist at Minneapolis Heart Institute at Abbott Northwestern Hospital and colleagues conducted a retrospective review of all coronary CTAs performed on patients less than 18 years of age at Minneapolis Heart Institute from June 2007 through February 2011.

The differences in radiation dose between the three scan groups were statistically significant, according to the authors, and high image quality was maintained between groups despite the decreased radiation exposure, Han and colleagues reported.

A high percentage of the patients had coronary artery pathology including anomaly, stenosis, or aneurysm. Overall, 17 patients underwent subsequent surgical intervention and surgical findings correlated with coronary CTA in all cases.

"We found that the newer imaging modes decrease the radiation dose between four-fold and seven-fold, without loss in diagnostic accuracy or image quality," Han said.

"The estimated radiation dose reduction over traditional angiography is even greater," he added.

The study will be presented at the Sixth Annual Scientific Meeting of the Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography (SCCT) in Denver. (ANI)