Patent Arterial Duct

The patent arterial duct is an arterial connection between the pulmonary artery and the aorta. Patent arterial duct is twice as common among females and occurs in approximately 1 in 1600 term live births. Symptoms and physical findings depend on the size of the duct as well as the pulmonary vascular resistance and associated intracardiac defects. There are many different treatment strategies available for the premature neonate with a patent arterial duct. While it is acceptable to simply ligate or hemoclip the patent arterial duct in preterm infants, older patients should have double or triple ligation or division and oversewing to minimize the risk of incomplete closure or recanalization. The Society of Thoracic Surgeons Congenital Heart Surgery Database contains data from over 95% of hospitals in the USA where pediatric cardiac surgery is performed and is the largest database in the world that contains information about pediatric and congenital cardiac operations.