The symptomatic patent ductus arteriosus (sPDA) is common in extremely premature infants (EPI). In order to decrease the hemodynamic repercussion and avoid complications it is necessary to close it. Indomethacin or ibuprofen are used for this purpose with its associated risks.
Objective: Characterize digestive and renal complications in EPI who received indomethacin or ibuprofen as sPDA treatment.
Patients and method: Retrospective study on EPI between January-2004 and December-2013. Three groups were compared: treated with indomethacin or ibuprofen and a non-treated group. EPI with other serious complications were excluded. The primary outcomes on each group were digestive and/or renal complications. Statistical significance was p < 0.05.
Results: 599 EPI were included, 33.1% with PDA received treatment and 66.9% did not need it. A statistical association was found between sPDA and lower gestational ages, neonatal depression and respiratory distress. In the non-treated group, 5% presented enterocolitis and 0.25% renal failure; on the treated group, 2.5% presented enterocolitis and 1.0% renal failure. No significant differences were found between the treated and non-treated groups in relation to complications considering enterocolitis (p = 0.11) or renal failure (p = 0.33) alone, or combined (p = 0.17). No difference were detected either between those treated with indomethacin or ibuprofen.
Conclusions: The results show that in absence of other clinical complication, medical treatment of sPDA with indomethacin or ibuprofen, do not increase the risk of serious digestive or renal disorders. There were no advantages of using indomethacin or ibuprofen over the other.