Persistent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA)
What is Persistent Ductus Arteriosus?
The ductus arteriosus is the name of the tube that carries blood between the aorta and the pulmonary artery in the foetus.
This tube normally closes at or shortly after birth. Sometimes, however, the mechanism of closure does not work. When this occurs, it’s called Persistent Ductus Arteriosus or Patent Ductus Arteriosus.
Normally the heart’s left side pumps blood to the body, while the right side pumps blood to the lungs. When a child has PDA, extra blood gets pumped from the body artery (aorta) into the lung (pulmonary) arteries. If the PDA is large, the extra blood being pumped into the lung arteries makes the heart and lungs work harder and the lungs can become congested.
What are the symptoms of Persistent Ductus Arteriosus?
The severity of PDA symptoms will depend on the size of the opening and the person’s age. A small PDA might not cause any symptoms, or may not cause symptoms until the person has reached adulthood. However, a large PDA can cause symptoms soon after birth; these can include:
- Poor feeding
- Sweating when crying or eating
- Constant fast breathing or breathlessness
- Tiring easily
- Rapid heart rate
What treatment options are there?
Treatment options for PDA will depend on the age of the person affected, and the severity of the condition. For some people with small PDAs, regular checkups to watch for complications may be all that is required.
Medications
A premature baby born with PDA may be given medication called nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs. NSAIDs can block certain body chemicals that keep the PDA open. However, these medicines won’t close a PDA in full-term babies, children or adults.
Surgery or other procedures
Treatments to close a patent ductus arteriosus include:
Catheter procedure: In a catheter procedure, a thin tube called a catheter and a plug or coil are used to close the opening. The doctor places the catheter into a blood vessel in the groin and guides it to the heart. A plug or coil goes through the catheter. The plug or coil closes the patent ductus arteriosus. The treatment doesn’t usually need an overnight hospital stay, and allows the doctor to avoid open-heart surgery.
Premature babies are too small for catheter treatments. If the PDA isn’t causing trouble, a catheter treatment to close the opening may be done when the baby is older.
Open-heart surgery: A surgical closure may be needed if the PDA is large or causing complications. The PDA is closed using stitches or clips. It usually takes a few weeks to fully recover from this surgery.
Some people born with PDA will need regular health checkups for life, even after treatment to close the opening.
