Cardiac Silhouette Volume and Left Heart Volume in Infants and Children

Quantitative biplane angiographic data were compared to chest X ray data in 173 patients with various heart diseases in infancy and childhood. The patients were separated into four groups on the basis of ventricular overload pattern. Group I consisted of patients without valvular disease and shunt, group II those having left ventricular overload without left to right shunt, group III those with biventricular overload with left to right shunt, group IV those with right ventricular overload.
Cardiac silhouette volumes were compared statistically to left ventricular end-diastolic volume,left ventricular total volume, and left heart volume in all four groups. The closest correlations were noted when cardiac silhouette volumes were compared to LHV, in groups I and II. The cardiothoracic ratio was compared statistically to LHV in all four groups. The correlations were significant in group I but not close in group II and not significant in groups III and IV.