Premature "closing" of the foramen ovale in transposition of the great arteries with intact ventricular septum: rare cause of sudden neonatal death.

We report a male neonate who developed severe cyanosis and bradycardia at birth unresponsive to resuscitation. At autopsy he was found to have premature "closure" of the foramen ovale together with transposition of the great arteries and an intact ventricular septum. Reviewing the literature, we found only one case report describing a similar neonate with this lethal combination of cardiac malformations.