Introduction:

Vein of Galen aneurysmal malformation is not frequent but it has high mortality rates in newborns.

Objective:

To assess the clinical relevance of ultrasound diagnosis of Vein of Galen aneurysmal malformation.

Methods:

Observational, prospective and cross-sectional research conducted in “William Soler” Cardiocentro (November 1999- December 2016). The sample was formed by 18 newborns with diagnosis of Vein of Galen aneurysmal malformation (choroidal variety) through doppler echocardiography. Two reference groups were formed: 1) 70 supposedly healthy children; 2) 73 children with Vein of Galen malformation with a nature different to the studied choroidal variety. Processing of the information included elements of inferential statistics and tools from medicine based in evidences.

Results:

The presence of neonatal heart failure, electrocardiographic signs of myocardial ischemia and detection of transcranial continuous murmur were significantly different in the study group in relation with the reference group (p= 0,000001), with predominance in the number of patients of the study group in all the variables. The previous results combined with different ultrasound findings as the anomalous dilation of the vein, the excess of afferent vasculature, the reduction of encephalic circulation indexes and the increase of the supraaortic vascular diameters identified in a precise way the vein of Galen aneurysmal malformation. The assessment of the relative risk reaffirmed the information on the exposed findings.

Conclusions:

Doppler echography, due to its clinical importance and its links with other diagnostic elements, is mandatory in the detection of the vein of Galen aneurysmal malformation.

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