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Right pulmonary artery to left atrial fistula: a description of two cases, emphasising a diagnostic approach

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 November 2011

Gabriel Diaz ,
Alicia Marquez  and
Javier Gentile
Gabriel Diaz*
Affiliation:
Departamento de Pediatria Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Departamento de Pediatria Fundacion Santafe de Bogota, Bucaramanga, Colombia
Alicia Marquez
Affiliation:
Servicio de Pediatria Clinica Candelaria, Centro Policlinico Del Olaya, Clinica De La Mujer, Bucaramanga, Colombia
Javier Gentile
Affiliation:
Departamento de Cirugia Cardiovascular, Fundacion Cardiovascular de Colombia, Bucaramanga, Colombia
*
Correspondence to: Gabriel Diaz, Profesor Titular del Departamento de Pediatria, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional De Colombia, Ciudad Universitaria, Carrera 30 Number 45-03, Bogota, Colombia; Office address: Carrera 9 Number 116-20, Consultorio 332, Bogota, Colombia. Tel: +57 1 2152300, 2152920; Fax: +57 1 2150849 E-mails: gfdiazg50@gmail.com, gfdiazg@unal.edu.co
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Abstract

Right pulmonary artery to left atrial fistula is a rare pathology characterised by a right to left shunt. Another important aspect of this pathology is the difficulty encountered in making a diagnosis, which is why the diagnosis is frequently delayed into adulthood. A description of two cases is used to emphasise the importance of the different modes of echocardiography as a diagnostic tool in diagnosis, as well as the two different clinical forms that it adopts: a group of patients suffering cardiac failure and cyanosis without apparent cause generally in neonates and a second group of mostly older patients with dyspnoea and cyanosis without apparent cause. Symptoms thus differ depending on the time of presentation and are related to the size of the fistula.

Keywords

Cardiac failurecyanosiscontrast echocardiographycolour Doppler echocardiography
Type
Original Article
Information
Cardiology in the Young , Volume 22 , Issue 3 , June 2012 , pp. 279 - 284
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

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