Coronary artery indexed diameter and z score regression equations in healthy Chinese Han children.

OBJECTIVE

In children with coronary disease, clinical decision should be based on detailed measurements of the coronary arteries by two-dimensional echocardiography. We aimed to establish coronary artery reference indexed diameter and z scores regression equations in a large cohort of Chinese Han children.

METHODS

We measured the diameter of the proximal right (RCA), left main (LMCA), left anterior descending, and left circumflex coronary artery, and of the aortic annulus, and calculated the coronary-aorta index (coronary artery-to-aortic annulus ratio) in 506 Chinese Han children with normal hearts whose ages ranged from 1 day to 18 years. Regression analyses were performed, relating the coronary artery dimensions to body surface area (BSA). Several models were used, and the best model (yielding the maximum adjusted R(2) ) was chosen to establish a z score calculator.

RESULTS

Based on cubic regression, (M) = β0 + β1 × BSA + β2 × BSA(2)  + β3 × BSA(3) , the adjusted R(2) values were 0.515, 0.553, 0.505, and 0.518 for the RCA, LMCA, left anterior descending, and left circumflex coronary artery models, respectively. RCA/aortic annulus was 0.14 ± 0.02 (range, 0.07-0.24) and LMCA/AOA was 0.15 ± 0.03 (range, 0.10-0.28).

CONCLUSIONS

Our results provide reference values of coronary artery z scores, regression equation, and coronary-aorta index as a quick guide to determine coronary dilation in Chinese Han children.