Cardiology in the Young

Table of Contents - 2002 - Volume 12, Issue 01  


Brief Report

Aortopulmonary collateral arteries in a child with trisomy 21

Ralf Holzer a1c1, Edmund Ladusans a1 and Nilima Malaiya a2
a1 Royal Liverpool Children's NHS Trust, Liverpool
a2 Royal Manchester Children's Hospital, Pendlebury, Manchester, UK

Article author query
holzer r   [PubMed][Google Scholar] 
ladusans e   [PubMed][Google Scholar] 
malaiya n   [PubMed][Google Scholar] 

Abstract

We describe an infant born prematurely at 30 weeks gestation with Down's syndrome who became dependent on oxygen at 3 weeks of age after an uneventful initial neonatal period. There had been no evidence of bronchopulmonary dysplasia. An isolated aortopulmonary collateral artery of moderate size was mistakenly diagnosed as persistent patency of the arterial duct on echocardiography, and subsequently successfully occluded using two coils with an excellent clinical result. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first description of a congenital aortopulmonary collateral artery in a symptomatic infant with Down's syndrome and no evidence of bronchopulmonary dysplasia. We discuss the possible etiologies of these collateral arteries. It is important to include aortopulmonary collateral arteries in the differential echocardiographic diagnosis of an arterial duct.

(Published Online August 15 2006)
(Received June 25 2001)
(Accepted July 18 2001)


Key Words: Collateral circulation; pulmonary artery; infant; case report; human.

Correspondence:
c1 Correspondence to: Dr Ralf Holzer, Department of Paediatric Cardiology, Royal Liverpool Children's NHS Trust, Alder Hey, Eaton Road, Liverpool L12 2AP, UK. Tel: 0151-252 5046; Fax: 0151-252 5643; E-mail: Holzer@doctors.org.uk

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