Abstract

Prominent azygos veins (PAVs) have been described with interrupted inferior venae cavae (IVCs) with heterotaxy. At the authors' institution, cases of PAVs with uninterrupted IVCs have been noted. The aim of this study was to determine the occurrence rate of PAVs and associated lesions by echocardiography.All patients with PAVs were collected; those with interrupted and uninterrupted IVCs were assigned to groups 1 and 2. Normal controls were assigned to group 3.Among 15,849 patients from January 1, 2001, to March 31, 2008, 55 (0.3%) had PAVs, 42 (76%) in group 1 and 13 (24%) in group 2. Heterotaxy was prominent in group 1, whereas patients in group 2 had no heterotaxy. Patients in group 2 had more structurally normal hearts than those in group 1 (46% vs 14%, P<.01), partial anomalous pulmonary venous return, and one single ventricle. IVC measurements were the same in groups 2 and 3 (P=.65).This study demonstrates that a PAV without IVC interruption is not associated with heterotaxy. Patients with PAVs should be carefully examined for partial anomalous pulmonary venous return.

View details for DOI 10.1016/j.echo.2009.11.025

View details for Web of Science ID 000275221900007

View details for PubMedID 20138465