Spontaneous dissection of the arterial duct during continuous infusion of prostaglandin E1 in a neonate with aortic arch interruption.

We report a 3-day-old boy with double outlet of the right ventricle and interruption of the aortic arch who developed spontaneous dissection of the arterial duct (DA) despite use of continuous infusion of lipo-prostaglandin E1 (PGE1). Transthoracic echocardiography demonstrated the spontaneous dissecting aneurysm of DA, which was confirmed by histology at the modified Norwood procedure done at age of 18 days. This is the first report of spontaneous dissection of DA in a neonate receiving PGE1, suggesting a new closing mechanism of DA.