[A rare combination: persistent ductus arteriosus and pulmonary stenoses. Is there a correlation with rubella...

The combination of patent ductus arteriosus, valvular pulmonary stenosis and/or peripheral pulmonary stenosis is very rare. We examined 23 children with this entity. In 9 children there were findings suggestive of rubella syndrome. 17 of the 23 children were born predominantly between October and March. Most of them showed low birth weights. Regarding the cardiac involvement there was no difference between the children with signs of rubella syndrome and those without noncardiac manifestations. In many children the symptoms of the patent ductus are leading. On evaluation of the noninvasive diagnostic procedures the ECG showed often a right ventricular hypertrophy and the x-ray of the chest showed in most cases a cardiac enlargement. In all patients a heart catheterization was necessary to establish the diagnosis. The review of the literature and the interpretation of our findings seems to suggest that the combination of a patent ductus arteriosus with pulmonary stenosis is a typical manifestation of rubella infection in the heart.