Angiography in pediatric patients: Measurement and estimation of femoral vessel diameter

The diameter of femoral vessels was angiographically explored in pediatric patients with congenital heart disease (CHD) and compared with anthropometric and demographic indexes. A total of 153 pediatric patients younger than 3 years old were recruited. The sex, age, weight, and height of patients were recorded daily, and the body surface area (BSA) was calculated with the Mosteller formula. The values of mean left-right diameters were 3.13 (0.32) mm for the femoral artery (FA) and 5.14 (0.68) mm for the femoral vein (FV). The FA diameter (FA-Dm) and FV diameter (FV-Dm) were clearly related (R = 0.84, P < .001), and the FA-Dm/FV-Dm ratio ranged from 0.61 to 0.622. The diameters of femoral vessels were significantly correlated with age, height, weight and BSA (R = 0.63 to 0.73, P < .001). The FA-Dm and FV-Dm were most closely associated with the height of patients (FA-Dm: R = 0.73, P < .001; FV-Dm: R = 0.69, P < .001). The FV-Dm and FA-Dm were consistent with the weight, height, age and BSA in the surveyed pediatric patients. The FA-Dm and FV-Dm were closely associated with the height of pediatric patients. Furthermore, the FA-Dm/FV-Dm ratio was stable in these patients. Such estimations could help clinicians select the appropriate diameter of cannulation needles and catheters for interventional therapy pediatric patients with CHD.