Common arterial trunk
Recommended Citation
Ross E, Wehrheim K. Common Arterial Trunk. In: Anderson RH, Backer CL, Berger S, Blom NA, Holzer RJ, Robinson JD, eds. Pediatric Cardiology: Fetal, Pediatric, and Adult Congenital Heart Diseases. Springer International Publishing; 2024:2097-2112.
Abstract
Common arterial trunk, also known as persistent truncus arteriosus, or simply truncus arteriosus, is a form of complex congenital heart disease characterized by a single arterial vessel arising from the base of the heart to provide the coronary, systemic, and pulmonary blood flow. The subtruncal interventricular communication, usually described as a ventricular septal defect, allows mixing of the systemic and pulmonary venous return, resulting in systemic hypoxia. The lesions are usually subcategorized according to the patterns of branching of the common trunk. Optimal care is facilitated by prenatal or early postnatal diagnosis, with primary surgical repair typically within the neonatal period. Preoperative management focuses on balancing the systemic and pulmonary blood flow, most commonly complicated by pulmonary overcirculation as the pulmonary vascular resistance falls. Operative outcomes continue to improve but may be adversely affected by the presence of interrupted aortic arch and truncal valvar dysfunction. Reoperation is required in cases of dysfunction of conduits placed from the right ventricle to the pulmonary arteries, or neoaortic valvar dysfunction.
Type
Book Chapter
Book Chapter/Book Details
In: Anderson RH, Backer CL, Berger S, Blom NA, Holzer RJ, Robinson JD, eds. Pediatric Cardiology: Fetal, Pediatric, and Adult Congenital Heart Diseases. Springer International Publishing; 2024.
Affiliations
Advocate Children’s Heart Institute, Oak Lawn, IL