Premature closure of the ductus arteriosus (P.C.D.A.): a possible cause of intrauterine circulatory failure.

In the course of some 800 perinatal necropsies (corresponding to approximately 26,000 deliveries), 3 stillborn infants were found to have an almost completely closed ductus arteriosus. Each of these showed cardiomegaly, dilatation of right-side chambers, pulmonary hyperaemia and oedema of varying degree and extent; intrauterine death was considered to be due to P.C.D.A. In several further cases the ductus was also narrowed but not necessarily responsible for intrauterine death. This frequency suggests that P.C.D.A. is more common than might be surmised from very scanty documentation in the literature. Possible aetiological factors of P.C.D.A. as well as its effects on the circulation are briefly discussed.