Incidental discovery of a patent ductus arteriosus in adults.

Patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) is an uncommon clinical finding in adult primary care patients. However, with improved survival of premature infants at risk for PDA and an increase in cases discovered incidentally on echocardiograms performed for other purposes, the incidence of PDA is rising. Thus, primary care physicians need to be alert to the clinical situations suggesting a previously undiagnosed PDA. It is estimated that the incidence of PDA is approximately 0.02% to 0.04% in term infants and slightly higher in premature infants. PDA accounts for 6% to 11% of all congenital heart defects. Although most cases of PDA would seem to occur sporadically, multifactorial inheritance is believed to underlie many cases. These people are thought to possess a genetic predisposition acted on by an environmental trigger that occurs at an unknown but vulnerable time during the pregnancy. The clinical spectrum of presentation of a PDA may range from a "silent" PDA, one with no clinical manifestations but which is incidentally discovered on echocardiogram for other purposes, to patients who present with congestive heart failure, pulmonary hypertension, signs of volume overload, endocarditis, atrial fibrillation, or "recurrent pneumonia." We describe 2 cases that illustrate the discovery of an asymptomatic PDA during routine physical examination of adult patients.

Celiac disease.

As many as one in every 100 to 200 persons in the United States has celiac disease, a condition resulting from an inappropriate immune response to the dietary protein gluten. The manifestations of celiac disease range from no symptoms to overt malabsorption with involvement of multiple organ systems and an increased risk of some malignancies. When celiac disease is suspected, initial testing for serum immunoglobulin A (IgA) tissue transglutaminase (tTG) antibodies is useful because it offers adequate sensitivity and specificity at a reasonable cost. A positive IgA tTG result should prompt small bowel biopsy with at least four tissue samples to confirm the diagnosis. However, 3 percent of patients with celiac disease have IgA deficiency. Therefore, if the serum IgA tTG result is negative but clinical suspicion for the disease is high, a serum total IgA level may be considered. Screening of asymptomatic patients is not recommended. The basis of treatment for celiac disease is adherence to a gluten-free diet, which may eliminate symptoms within a few months. Patients should also be evaluated for osteoporosis, thyroid dysfunction, and deficiencies in folic acid, vitamin B12, fat-soluble vitamins, and iron, and treated appropriately. Serum IgA tTG levels typically decrease as patients maintain a gluten-free diet.