Persistence ductus arteriosus: Case repor

Abstract

The most common congenital heart disease found in dogs is the shunting patent ductus arteriosus (PDA), representing 25 to 30% of cases, mainly affecting purebred breeds and is more frequent in females. The ductus arteriosus (DA) is a structure present in fetal life, derived from the sixth aortic arch, connecting the pulmonary artery to the aorta. It helps in fetal circulation since lack of lung expansion offers great resistance to blood flow. At birth, the expansion of the lungs along with the alveolar and arterial PO2 increase stimulates the DA smooth muscle constriction, promoting its closure. PDA occurs when duct closure does not occur. It may be in the classic form, with the left-to-right shift, or the reverse form with the right-to-left shift. The diagnosis is made from clinical signs along with radiography, electrocardiography, echocardiography, and angiocardiography. Treatment is surgical, but as the patient may develop congestive heart failure (CHF), prior clinical treatment is required for possible arrhythmias and pulmonary edema. This paper aims to report a case of patent ductus arteriosus in a female Maltese canine, one-year-old. It had an audible machinery murmur on the left base of the heart, a palpable thrill, and complementary exams indicated severe cardiomegaly and CHF. After clinical treatment, the patient underwent surgical correction using the standard technique of ductus arteriosus ligation.