Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine, Vol 20, Issue 6 681-687, Copyright © 2001 by American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine
Imaging of the ductus venosus in neonates: from patency to closure
A. Vade, J. Lim-Dunham and N. Iqbal
Department of Radiology, Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood, Illinois 60153, USA.
OBJECTIVE: To familiarize the radiologist with the variable sonographic
appearance of the involuting ductus venosus in neonates. METHODS: Five sick
neonates ranging in age from 24 to 42 weeks had abdominal sonographic
examinations to check for intra-abdominal diseases. RESULTS: Doppler
sonography showed a patent ductus venosus in 3 neonates and a ductus
venosus with thrombosis in 2 neonates. The ductus venosus was identified in
the liver between the left portal vein and the inferior vena cava. In 2
patients, follow-up sonography showed that the ductus venosus progressively
had thrombosis and then disappeared. CONCLUSIONS: The ductus venosus in a
neonate has a variable sonographic appearance depending on its stage of
involution. Its detection in a sick neonate can lead to inadvertent
diagnosis of a hepatic varix, an abscess, or a tumor.
