Common Arterial Trunk: Report of Five Atopsied Cases

ABSTRACT

The common arterial trunk is a congenital cardiovascular malformation in which one arterial trunk gives origin to the aortic arch, pulmonary and coronary arteries. Other cardiovascular malformations are often associated, such as ventricular septal defect, aortic arch interruption, patent arterial duct and so on. During the early period of life, the persistence of the increased pulmonary arteriolar resistance results in cyanosis. As the pulmonary vascular resistance decreases, the cyanosis disappears but signs of congestive heart failure become the main problems. We report five cases of common arterial trunk that was confirmed by autopsy at Chungnam National University Hospital, Seoul National University Hospital, and Yonsei University Severance Hospital between 1983 and 1995. The ages of these patients at autopsy were 8-28 days and four of them were male. Pulmonary arteries arose as a pulmonary trunk in two cases but three cases showed two arteries arising separately from the posterior wall of the common trunk. The type of ventricular septal defect was juxtatruncal in every case. All five cases had three leaflet truncal valves but three cases showed dysplasia of the leaflets. Interruption of aortic arch was associated in two cases. The cause of death was renal failure in two cases, cardiac failure after corrective surgery in two cases, and pulmonary edema and failure in one case.