What is ductus arteriosus in infants?

Many children will show an abnormal symptom in infancy, suffering from a disease called patent ductus arteriosus. However, since this disease is not discovered very frequently, most people have not heard of this disease called patent ductus arteriosus in infants. Once such symptoms occur, they must be treated in time. However, when treating them, we must first understand what this disease is. Let us follow some of you to make a detailed understanding:

Ductus arteriosus in infants is one of the common congenital heart diseases in pediatrics, ranking second among all congenital heart diseases and accounting for about 9% to 12% of the total number of congenital heart diseases, with a male:female ratio of about 1:3. It can be an independent disease or coexist with other congenital heart diseases, including aortic malformation (commonly seen in aortic arch interruption, aortic stenosis, etc.), atrial septum, ventricular septal defect, transposition of the great arteries, tricuspid atresia, pulmonary atresia and tetralogy of Fallot.

The embryonic development of the ductus arteriosus originates from the back of the sixth pair of aortic arches, connecting the pulmonary artery and the descending aorta during fetal development. After birth, the lungs expand, pulmonary resistance decreases, and blood from the pulmonary arteries flows into the lungs. The ductus arteriosus first forms functional contraction and eventually leads to anatomical closure, forming a ligament. About 80% of the time required for this process is completed within 3 months after birth, and the latest is no more than 1 year. The diameter of a patent ductus arteriosus is usually around 5 to 10 mm, and the length varies from 3 to 30 mm. Its shapes may include funnel, tube, window, bell-shaped, or aneurysm. Among them, the funnel type and tubular type are the most common.

There are many factors that cause patent ductus arteriosus, such as premature birth, neonatal hypoxia, infection, and consanguineous marriage, which lead to the proliferation of foam cells inside the ductus arteriosus and fail to gradually close to form a pathological channel. However, when patent ductus arteriosus is accompanied by other malformations of the heart and blood vessels, especially in tricuspid atresia and pulmonary atresia, the patent ductus arteriosus becomes the only channel to supply the pulmonary circulation.

According to statistics from the Pediatric Circulatory Ward of our hospital, among the 519 patients with congenital heart disease admitted during the decade from 1985 to 1994, 39 had isolated patent ductus arteriosus, including 3 with pulmonary hypertension, 2 with subacute bacterial endocarditis, 1 with cerebral infarction, 2 with pneumonia, and 2 with heart failure. There were 21 cases with patent ductus arteriosus and other malformations, including 17 cases with ventricular septal defect. Among the 21 cases with other malformations, 7 had pulmonary hypertension, 3 had pneumonia, and 3 had heart failure. It can be seen that patients with unclosed ductus arteriosus and other malformations have more complications and more serious conditions.

The above is an explanation of the patent ductus arteriosus disease in infants. If our children accidentally suffer from this disease one day, we must receive timely treatment. When treating this disease, we must also pay attention to the relevant factors in this regard. Symptomatic and causal treatment is an important measure to treat the disease. When treating this disease in children, we must also observe the symptoms of the children at any time, and seek medical attention immediately if any adverse conditions are found.