Detection of an obstructive membrane in the ductus arteriosus of a fetus using high frame rate echocardiography

Fetal Diagn Ther. 1998 Jul-Aug;13(4):250-2. doi: 10.1159/000020848.

Abstract

We examined a fetus at 38 weeks of gestation because of marked disproportion in size of the left and right ventricles. A membrane was detected at the distal end of the ductus arteriosus with significant flow gradient through it. New echocardiographic technologies such as high frame rate imaging and dynamic beam focusing increase spatial and temporal resolution and enhance more precise anatomical diagnosis in the fetus. This ductal membrane might have been related to the transient tachypnea from which the baby suffered after birth.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Ductus Arteriosus / abnormalities*
  • Ductus Arteriosus / diagnostic imaging*
  • Female
  • Heart Ventricles / diagnostic imaging
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Pregnancy
  • Respiration Disorders / etiology
  • Ultrasonography, Prenatal / methods*