Cerebral blood flow velocity in normal, full-term newborns is not related to ductal closure
D. G. Batton, S. Riordan and T. Riggs
Department of Pediatrics, William Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, Mich 48073-6769.
OBJECTIVE--To correlate changes in blood flow velocity in the anterior and
middle cerebral arteries with closure of the ductus arteriosus in normal,
full-term newborns during the first 2 days following delivery.
DESIGN--Survey. SETTING--Large community hospital.
PARTICIPANTS--Twenty-three normal, full-term neonates. SELECTION
PROCEDURES--Volunteer sample. INTERVENTIONS--None. MEASUREMENTS AND
RESULTS--We measured blood flow velocity in the anterior and middle
cerebral arteries, cardiac output, and patency of the ductus arteriosus
using pulsed Doppler, M-mode, and real-time ultrasound. The initial
examination was performed at (mean +/- SD) 7.6 +/- 2 hours and the second
examination was performed at 30 +/- 3 hours. The systolic, diastolic, and
mean blood flow velocity in the anterior and middle cerebral arteries
increased significantly from day 1 to day 2. Cardiac output did not change
significantly (252 +/- 49 vs 279 +/- 69 cm3/kg per minute). Thirteen
newborns on day 1, but only two newborns on day 2, had echocardiographic
evidence of a patent ductus arteriosus. Newborns whose ductus was already
closed on day 1 had similar increases in blood flow velocity in the
anterior and middle cerebral arteries from day 1 to day 2 compared with
newborns whose ductus had closed from day 1 to day 2. CONCLUSION--The
normal increase in blood flow velocity in the anterior and middle cerebral
arteries in the first 2 days following delivery is not related to changes
in cardiac output or ductal closure.
