• von Willebrand syndrome
• patent ductus arteriosus

• Ag, antigen
• aPTT, activated partial thromboplastin time
• AVWS, acquired von Willebrand syndrome
• CB, collagen binding capacity
• PDA, patent ductus arteriosus
• VWF, von Willebrand factor

Since acquired von Willebrand syndrome (AVWS) was first described in 1968, approximately 270 cases have been reported in the literature. In 12% of these cases AVWS was secondary to cardiovascular disorders.¹ Only two of these reports dealt with children.^2,3 Gill and colleagues reported on 12 patients with non-cyanotic heart defects (atrial and ventricular septal defects, aortic stenosis) and abnormal von Willebrand factor (VWF) subunits.² Four out of five patients with ventricular septal defect who underwent repeat examination following surgical repair showed normalisation of the multimeric pattern.

We recently described the first case of AVWS in an infant with persistently patent ductus arteriosus (PDA).³ To study the frequency of this association and its aetiology, we examined 12 children (eight girls, four boys, median age 3.4 years) …