Right and left ventricular function and flow quantification in pediatric patients with repaired tetralogy of Fallot using four-dimensional flow magnetic resonance imaging.

BACKGROUND To assess the accuracy and reproducibility of right ventricular (RV) and left ventricular (LV) function and flow measurements in children with repaired tetralogy of Fallot (rTOF) using four-dimensional (4D) flow, compared with conventional two-dimensional (2D) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sequences. METHODS Thirty pediatric patients with rTOF were retrospectively enrolled to undergo 2D balanced steady-state free precession cine (2D b-SSFP cine), 2D phase contrast (PC), and 4D flow cardiac MRI. LV and RV volumes and flow in the ascending aorta (AAO) and main pulmonary artery (MPA) were quantified. Pearson's or Spearman's correlation tests, paired t-tests, the Wilcoxon signed-rank test, Bland-Altman analysis, and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) were performed. RESULTS The 4D flow scan time was shorter compared with 2D sequences (P   0.05), and showed strong correlations (r > 0.90, P   0.60, P   0.85). CONCLUSIONS RV and LV function and flow quantification in pediatric patients with rTOF using 4D flow MRI can be measured accurately and reproducibly compared to those with conventional 2D sequences.