Intermittent disappearance of a patent ductus arteriosus murmur: report of a case and review of the literature

A 10-year-old girl with a diagnosis of patent ductus arteriosus from the time of birth was noted to have disappearance of her typical continuous murmur on two separate, well-documented occasions. Cardiac catheterization showed a small patent ductus arteriosus with a pulmonic/systemic flow ratio of 1.3:1. Conservative treatment was advised. Twelve other cases of intermittent disappearance of the murmur of a patent ductus arteriosus were found in the literature.