Effective diameter of the abdominal aorta in children

Abstract

Purpose: Measure out of the standard interval in the aorta diameter is a clue for aortic aneurysm or hypoplasia. Pediatric studies focusing specifically on the normal diameter of the abdominal aorta (AA) were limited in the literature. Therefore, the main goal of this work was to determine changes in the effective diameter of AA in healthy children aged 1-18 years for diagnosis of vascular diseases.

Methods: This retrospective work focused on abdominopelvic computed tomography views of 180 children (sex: 90 males / 90 females, average age: 9.50 ± 5.20 years) without any abdominopelvic disease to measure diameters of AA, common iliac artery (CIA), external iliac artery (EIA), and first lumbar vertebra (L1).

Results: Vessel and vertebra diameters increased in pediatric subjects between 1 and 18 years (p < 0.001). Considering pediatric age periods, vessel diameters increased steadily, but L1 diameter showed an irregular growth pattern between age periods. All parameters were greater in males than females (p < 0.05), except from effective diameters of AA over the coeliac trunk (p = 0.084) and over the renal artery (p = 0.051). The ratios of diameters of vessels to L1 increased depending on ages between 1 and 18 years. Considering pediatric age periods, the ratios increased from infancy period to postpubescent period in irregular pattern; however, the ratios for right and left CIA, and AA over the aortic bifurcation did not alter after late childhood period. All ratios for males were similar to females (p > 0.05).

Conclusion: Our age-specific ratios may be beneficial for surgeons and radiologists for the diagnosis of vascular disorders such as aortic aneurysm.

Keywords: Abdominal aorta; Common iliac artery; Computed tomography; Effective diameter; External iliac artery.