Current Trends in Invasive Closure of Patent Ductus Arteriosus in Very Low Birth Weight Infants in US Children's Hospitals, 2016-2021.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the current practices in invasive patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) closure (surgical ligation or transcatheter occlusion) in very low birth weight (VLBW) infants and changes in patient characteristics and outcomes from 2016 to 2021 among US children's hospitals.

STUDY DESIGN: We evaluated a retrospective cohort of VLBW infants (birth weight 400-1499g and gestational age 22-31 weeks) who had invasive PDA closure within 6 months of age from 2016 to 2021 in children's hospitals in the Pediatric Health Information System. Changes in patient characteristics and outcomes over time were evaluated using generalized linear models and generalized linear mixed models.

RESULTS: 2418 VLBW infants (1182 surgical ligation; 1236 transcatheter occlusion) from 42 hospitals were included. The proportion of infants receiving transcatheter occlusion increased from 17.2% in 2016 to 84.4% in 2021 (p<0.001). In 2021, 28/42 (67%) hospitals had performed transcatheter occlusion in > 80% of their VLBW infants needing invasive PDA closure, compared with only 2/42 (5%) in 2016. Although median postmenstrual age (PMA) at PDA closure did not change for the overall cohort, PMA at transcatheter occlusion decreased from 38 weeks in 2016 to 31 weeks by 2020, p<0.001. Among those infants not intubated prior to PDA closure, extubation within 3 days post-procedure increased over time (yearly adjusted odds ratios of 1.26 [1.08-1.48]). Length of stay and mortality did not change over time.

CONCLUSION: We report rapid adoption of transcatheter occlusion for PDA among VLBW infants in US children's hospitals over time. Transcatheter occlusions were performed at younger PMA over time.