Imaging of the ductus venosus in neonates: from patency to closure.
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.
Vade
A
A
Department of Radiology, Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood, Illinois 60153, USA.
Lim-Dunham
J
J
Iqbal
N
N
D006330:Heart Defects, Congenital / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D014463:Ultrasonography; D014680:Veins / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*