Intravascular ultrasound versus digital subtraction angiography: direct comparison of intraluminal diameter measurements in pediatric and adolescent imaging

Background Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) allows intraluminal imaging of blood vessels rather than the one-dimensional luminal outline depicted by digital subtraction angiography (DSA). Despite extensive literature in multiple adult vascular diseases, IVUS has not been directly compared to DSA in pediatric and adolescent vascular pathologies. Objective The purpose of this manuscript is to compare absolute luminal diameter measurements obtained via IVUS and DSA during a variety of pediatric endovascular procedures. Materials and methods We conducted a retrospective review of all pediatric and adolescent endovascular procedures from October 2014 to March 2016 in which IVUS and DSA were used. We compared the vessel diameter measurements and analyzed them using SAS software with a paired t -test. Results There were 102 total measurements (DSA = 56; IVUS = 56; 22 procedures; 20 patients). On average, IVUS measured 0.6 ± 2.1 mm larger than DSA (95% confidence interval [CI] −0.01 to 1.12; P = 0.06; r = 0.90). When venous compression syndrome (May–Thurner, Nutcracker, superior vena cava syndrome) measurements were excluded, IVUS measured 0.7 ± 1.6 mm larger than DSA (95% CI 0.14 to 1.18; P = 0.01; r = 0.93). When venous compression syndrome measurements were evaluated separately, IVUS measured 0.3 ± 3.0 mm larger than DSA (95% CI −1.16 to 1.82; P = 0.65; r = 0.45). Conclusion Overall, IVUS measurements were slightly larger than DSA measurements in all data subsets. Absolute vessel diameter measurements obtained with IVUS in the pediatric and adolescent population are statistically significantly larger than those obtained using DSA when excluding venous compression syndromes. In venous compression syndromes, IVUS might provide a more accurate representation of vessel compression and diameter than DSA.