By Evan Zahn, MD; Dan Peck, MD; Ruchira Garg, MD; Marion McRae, NP; Phillip Nevin, RN; Kaylan Basaker; Alistair Phillips, MD; Charles Simmons, MD
Objectives
The goal of this study was to describe early and mid-term outcomes of extremely premature newborns (EPN) who underwent transcatheter echocardiographicguided Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA) closure.
Background
The treatment of hemodynamically significant PDA in EPN is controversial. Treatment with cyclooxygenase inhibitors induces ductal constriction and closure in some EPN; however, this therapy is only successful in an estimated 50%-60% of cases and carries a risk of pharmacologic complications such as renal insufficiency and bleeding. Surgical ligation of PDA in EPN confers significant risk of procedural morbidity, including PostLigation Syndrome (PLS) and may adversely affect long-term outcomes. This has led to an era of conservative expectant management of these EPN, despite the obvious ill effects PDA can have on their clinical course and outcomes.
To read the full article, please go to the October 2017 Issue of CCT, where it was originally published.