Multidetector computed tomographic assessment of the normal diameters for the thoracic aorta and pulmonary arteries in XXXX and @entity1 .

@entity1 @entity358 @entity65
BACKGROUND: Knowledge of the normal size of the thoracic aorta and pulmonary arteries is important regarding the detection of the abnormal and valuable in the treatment of @entity1 with congenital and acquired @entity65 . PURPOSE: To determine the normal diameters of the thoracic vascular structures of pediatric @entity1 on contrast-enhanced multidetector computer tomography (MDCT) scans. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Between July 2010 and July 2014, the MDCT examinations obtained from 520 @entity1 (age range, 0-18 years; mean age, 8.49 years        5.54 [standard deviation]; male:female ratio, 1.6:1) with normal cardiovascular examinations were retrospectively evaluated. @entity1 were divided into six groups according to their age. Diameters of the ascending aorta (AA), descending aorta (DA), @entity358 ( @entity358 ), @entity358 ( @entity358 ), and @entity358 ( @entity358 ) were measured. RESULTS: The diameters of the thoracic vascular structures increased with age and the statistical difference among the age groups and genders were significant. The vascular structures in male @entity1 tended to have higher dimensions than female @entity1 . The @entity358 demonstrated higher mean values than the @entity358 in each age group. The mean ratio PA ( @entity358 /AA) is 0.93        0.08 for pediatric @entity1 and it is slightly higher in @entity1 compared to @entity1 (0.93        0.07 and 0.92        0.07, respectively). The level of pulmonary artery bifurcation moves caudally with increasing age with thoracal 6 vertebra being the most common for all age groups (53.3%). CONCLUSION: We believe that the results of our study can serve as a potential reference in differentiating the normal from the abnormal size of the aorta and pulmonary arteries on chest MDCT studies in the pediatric population.
