Two-dimensional echocardiographic classification of persistent truncus arteriosus.

Three cases with persistent truncus arteriosus, a 1-year-old boy with a type I, an 8-month-old girl with a type II, and a 5-year-old girl with type II, all confirmed by surgery, were studied by two-dimensional echocardiography (2-DE). The 2-DE findings corresponded well with the actual anatomy as determined by direct visualization as well as angiogram. A "piling-up" method using 2-DE to reconstruct three-dimensional anatomical images is useful in making the correct diagnosis of persistent truncus arteriosus as well as typing this anomaly noninvasively.