Diagnostic steps of a cat with patent ductus arteriosus

Abstract

Patent ductus arteriosus (PDA), a fetal blood vessel between pulmonary artery and aorta that has to be closed in hours right after birth triggered by first breath of life, may result life threatening heart failure or even sudden death depend on size of the ductus[1]. PDA has been reported as a most common congenital heart defect in dogs and cats, however there is limited information on diagnostic procedure of PDA by use of three-dimensional computed tomography angiography (3D-CTA) in cats[1,2]. Thus, we report here the use of 3D-CTA to confirm the clinical diagnosis of PDA in a kitten.