A comparative study of established score models for coronary artery diameters in 181 healthy Korean children.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the statistical properties of four previously developed pediatric coronary artery score models in healthy Korean children.

Methods: The study subjects were 181 healthy Korean children, whose age ranged from 1 month to 15 years. The diameter of each coronary artery was measured using 2-dimensional echocardiography and converted to the score in the four models (McCrindle, Olivieri, Dallaire, and Japanese model). Descriptive statistical analyses and 1-sample tests were performed.

Results: All calculated scores had values of ≥0.050 using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. The one sample test showed that the mean scores did not converge to zero except in 1 model, and the mean right coronary artery (RCA) z score was less than zero in all 4 models. The smaller RCA diameter in this study could be associated with the more distal measuring point used to avoid the conal branch. The percentage of subjects with extreme z score values (≥2.0 and ≥2.5) for the left main coronary artery (LMCA) seems to be higher in the Dallaire (4.9% and 3.3%) and Japanese models (7.1% and 3.8%).

Conclusion: All 4 models showed statistical feasibility of normal distribution. More precise instructions would be needed for the measurement of the RCA. The higher percentage of extreme scores for the LMCA is compatible with the basic understanding of anatomic variation in the LMCA.