Key result
Agitated saline contrast echo accurately identifies persistent left superior vena cava draining into the LA.
Case Report (n=1)
Echocardiography with agitated saline contrast is an effective diagnostic tool for identifying persistent left superior vena cava draining into the left atrium, a rare cause of systemic desaturation post-cardiac surgery.
May support bedside LSVC diagnosis in post-surgical desaturation; hypothesis-generating pending prospective validation.
Persistent left superior vena cava (LSVC) is a rare congenital anomaly which usually produces no physiologic derangements if it drains into the right atrium via the coronary sinus, but it may cause significant desaturation when it drains into the left atrium (LA). Failure to diagnose LSVC communicating with the LA preoperatively may lead to serious consequences. We are describing an interesting case of a boy who presented with systemic desaturation due to an undetected LSVC after having undergone corrective surgery for atrioventricular canal defect. We have demonstrated that echocardiography with agitated saline contrast is a simple, accurate, and inexpensive diagnostic modality.
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Agarwal et al. (2013) conducted a case report in Persistent left superior vena cava draining into left atrium causing systemic desaturation (n=1). Echocardiography with agitated saline contrast was evaluated on Diagnosis of persistent left superior vena cava communicating with the left atrium. Echocardiography with agitated saline contrast was demonstrated to be a simple, accurate, and inexpensive diagnostic modality for detecting persistent left superior vena cava draining into the left atrium.
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