The aim of this article is to investigate the influence of reduced arterial oxygenation on cerebral gray and white matter T2* time and parameters of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) in children with cardiac malformations. In 23 patients examined by magnetic resonance imaging (3T), parameters were correlated to oxygen saturation and age (regression analysis). Reduced oxygen saturation correlated significantly to gray matter T2* time (p???0.01), whereas fractional anisotropy, mean diffusivity, and radial diffusivity correlated to age (p???0.005) but not to oxygenation. To conclude, gray matter T2* time might be used as a surrogate parameter to estimate oxygenation, and oxygenation does not influence the evaluation of DTI parameters.

This article examines the relation between oxygen saturation and T2 star time in cyanotic congenital heart disease and its correlation to cerebral gray and white matter alterations. Magnetic resonance imaging was performed in 25 patients (mean age: 52.2 months) and 32 controls. Gray and white matter volumes, as well as fractional anisotropy and longitudinal diffusivity, were significantly reduced in patients. The reduction longitudinal diffusivity correlated to oxygen saturation and T2 star time of gray matter (p < 0.05). This diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) parameter was most affected in cyanotic congenital heart disease and because is the only parameter showing significant correlation to reduced oxygenation, it should be included more often in the follow-up of these patients over time.