Persistência do ducto arterioso: revisão de literatura.

Abstract

Congenital anomalies are mutations that occur during the formation of the fetus and can generate functional and morphological alterations of the organism during the life of an animal, and among such alterations, the Persistent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA) would be the most common congenital heart disease in dogs, having a smaller casuistry when it comes to felines. The ductus arteriosus is a structure of the Cardiac System that is present during the intrauterine life of the animal, helping fetal circulation, since the absence of lung expansion during pregnancy generates an overload to the blood flow; and the ductus arteriosus is one of the vessels that should be closed at birth, once after the parturition of the animal, lung expansion and an increase in Partial Pressure of O2 occur, generating a contraction in the smooth muscle of the ductus arteriosus, causing the closing it and forming the Ligamentous Arteriosus. However, if such constriction of the muscle does not occur due to some congenital anomaly, PDA or Patent Ductus Arteriosus occurs, a disease that can present itself in two ways: the classic one, which characterizes the deviation from left to right that would be the blood flow from the aorta going to the pulmonary artery; or the reverse form, with deviation from right to left, generating blood flow from the pulmonary artery to the aorta. The diagnosis is made by the combination of clinical signs and complementary tests such as radiography, electrocardiogram and echocardiogram, which provide information on the state of the heart and what changes are occurring. The treatment is surgical, however, it is necessary to assess the general condition of the patient in advance to define whether he needs prior stabilization or not for the surgery, since PDA can also generate Congestive Heart Failure (CHF).