Common Arterial Trunk with Intact Ventricular Septum: Morphologic and Developmental Considerations

It is rare in clinical practice to encounter a common arterial trunk when the ventricular septum is intact. In this setting, other clinical diagnoses, such as hypoplastic left heart syndrome with aortic atresia, may be mistaken for a common arterial trunk. Data for this combination is largely limited to case reports and small case series. We have conducted a systematic review of reported cases, performing cluster analyses to provide an objective grouping of the cases.

A systematic review of the literature was performed to identify cases of a common arterial trunk with an intact ventricular septum. Cases for which individual data were available were included in the final analyses. Cluster analysis using K-means clustering was conducted to provide an objective grouping of the hearts based on morphologic findings.

K-means clustering identified three distinct groups among hearts with a common arterial trunk with intact ventricular septum. The commitment of the common ventriculo-arterial junction to the left, right, or both ventricles was the defining feature of each group. Hearts with a common trunk committed to one of the ventricles demonstrated significant hypoplasia or atresia of structures related to the other ventricle.

Distinct patterns can be identified when a common arterial trunk is found with an intact ventricular septum. They depend on the ventricle or ventricles, which support the common ventriculo-arterial junction.