[Real-time bidimensional-color Doppler evaluation of patent ductus arteriosus].

In order to assess the presence and severity of left-to-right shunt at ductal level, eleven patients with proven ductus arteriosus (PDA), ages 1 day to 16 years, were examined by real-time two-dimensional Doppler echocardiography. Eighteen subjects with no signs of cardiovascular disease were selected as normal controls. Normal pulmonary flow pattern was clearly visualized in the healthy subjects examined. The jet stream through the ductus was well imaged in the main pulmonary artery in patients with PDA and disappeared in two infants after pharmacologic manipulation with indomethacin. The colour-coded shunt area was related to the left-to-right shunt calculated at cardiac catheterization. Moreover, the combined use of colour-flow Doppler and continuous-wave Doppler yielded a reliable noninvasive assessment of pulmonary artery pressure.