To evaluate the prevalence of symptomatic and non-symptomatic ductus arteriosus and accuracy of physical signs in diagnosing PDA in preterm infants using blinded comparison of clinical and echocardiographic findings during the first week of life: a prospective observational study from Iran.

AIMS: To evaluate the prevalence of symptomatic and non-symptomatic ductus arteriosus (PDA) and accuracy of physical signs in diagnosing PDA in preterm infants using blinded comparison of clinical and echocardiographic findings during the first week of life.

METHODS AND MATERIAL: This prospective observational cross-sectional study enrolled 200 preterm infants, who underwent echocardiography on 4th-7th postnatal day. The neonates who were diagnosed to have PDA on echo were observed for clinical features of PDA to label it symptomatic PDA. Symptomatic PDA was defined as detecting one or all of these symptoms in a neonate with PDA: bounding pulse, pericardial hyperactivity, systolic or continuous murmur.

RESULTS

Forty-five infants had PDA on echocardiography. 66.7% neonates with PDA were symptomatic and the most prevalent symptom in them was heart murmur (100%) either alone or combined with other clinical features. Isolated murmur was seen in 31.2%, murmur and hyperdynamic precordium was seen in 8.8%, murmur and bounding pulses were seen in 6.67% and all three features simultaneously were seen in 20% of infants. The sensitivity of murmur for diagnosing symptomatic PDA was highest.

CONCLUSION

Presence of murmur is the most important clinical feature for diagnosis of symptomatic PDA and has good specificity.