Chopra Mark,  Barrett Hannah,  Hutchinson J.,  Kiho Liina,  Arthurs Owen

Final Pr. ID: Poster #: CR-013

Ductus Arteriosus calcification is a relatively common, typically unreported feature on plain film radiography. The more recent literature quotes a prevalence on unenhanced CT of between 37-61% of children and a peak at the age of 6-10 years. Adult studies have shown that calcification of the ligamentum arteriosum can occur alone or be associated with atherosclerotic and/or granulomatous calcification. We report two cases in whom they were identified as incidental findings on forensic post mortem CT, for whom we obtained histological confirmation.

Case 1: An 8 month old child who died in non-suspicious circumstances had incidental ductal arteriosus calcification reported on post mortem CT, following unremarkable skeletal survey. Intimal mural calcification was reported on histology at autopsy.

Case 2: A 19 month old child who died of aspiration underwent full skeletal survey and PMCT as part of the pre-autopsy imaging assessment. The skeletal survey revealed incidental ductus arteriosus calcification, initially reported as PDA clip, with correlation at CT. Intimal and medial mural calcification was reported on histology at autopsy.

These cases showed that ductal calcification was intimal and medial in nature. This is consistent with the current literature regarding mural calcification rather than thrombus regression calcification. Read More

Authors:  Chopra Mark , Barrett Hannah , Hutchinson J. , Kiho Liina , Arthurs Owen

Keywords:  Ductus arteriosus calcification, Post mortem, Non-accidental injury