1. Introduction
The incidence of patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) in premature,
very low birth weight (VLBW) infants (birth weight
<1500 g) is approximately 30%.1 The hemodynamic effects
consist of disturbances in the diastolic flow of the pulmonary
artery and the aorta and disturbances in the diastolic
flow of the cerebral and mesenteric perfusion, which
increase the risk for intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) and
gastrointestinal bleeding.2 More than two thirds of infants
with a birth weight below 1750 g require either medical or
surgical closure of PDA.3 Treatment options include medical
therapy and surgical ligation.4,5 Medical closure of PDA can
be achieved with nonselective cyclooxygenase inhibitors,
such as indomethacin and ibuprofen, which block the
conversion of arachidonic acid to prostaglandins.5,6 Treatment
with indomethacin is associated with adverse events
such as reduced renal, mesenteric, and cerebral
perfusion.7e9 Unlike indomethacin, ibuprofen has fewer
effects on renal perfusion.10e12
In April 2006, intravenous ibuprofen was introduced as
an alternative agent in the United States; however, its use
was suspended in early 2010.13 Intravenous ibuprofen is not
available in most countries and is much more expensive
than the oral form. Oral ibuprofen has been used for
closure of PDA since early 2000.14 The availability and lower
cost of oral ibuprofen has led many physicians to use that
regimen for closure of PDA.15e19Although oral ibuprofen is
used widely, few randomized studies have compared its
efficacy and safety with intravenous indomethacin, especially
among infants in different VLBW categories.18,20,21
The purpose of this study was to compare the efficacy
and complications of intravenous indomethacin with those
of oral ibuprofen in closure of PDA among infants in
different VLBW categories.
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Patients
This retrospective study was conducted in the neonatal
intensive care unit of the Changhua Christian Hospital of
Changhua city in Taiwan during the period of January 2005
to December 2010. The inclusion criteria included a birth
body weight <1500 g, a postnatal age between 48 and 96
hours, and echocardiographic evidence of left-to-right
shunting across the ductus arteriosus with sign(s) of heart
failure (respiratory distress, apnea, tachycardia, bounding
pulse, and widened pulse pressure). Infants who died within
3 days after birth, those with echocardiographic evidence
of right-to-left shunting, infants with major congenital
anomalies, and those with IVH grade 3 or 4 were excluded.
2.2. Study design
Clinical data and information were collected from the
medical records of the enrolled infants and included the
response to intravenous indomethacin or oral ibuprofen
(closed or failed), the need for surgical ligation, and
adverse effects associated with indomethacin or
ibuprofen. The endpoint for medical therapy of PDA
closure and complication has been the end of the initial
medical treatment. Adverse events included oliguria
(urine output <1 mL/kg/hour), post-treatment (within 1
week after treatment) serum creatinine levels > 1.2 mg/
dL, necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), coffee-ground aspirate,
or fresh blood aspirated through the gastric tube.
These signs were considered to be adverse events of
therapy if they occurred during the treatment course or
within 48 hours after treatment. In clinical practice, if the
patient was unsuitable for medical treatment or more
serious complications occurred, they underwent surgical
PDA ligation.
During the study period, routine echocardiographic
screening of infants with birth weights <1500 g was performed
between 48 and 96 hours after birth. Infants with
respiratory distress, increased oxygen requirements,
apnea, tachycardia, bounding pulse, widened pulse pressure,
or evidence of renal dysfunction were considered to
have symptomatic PDA.
Infants who received intravenous indomethacin were
stratified into Group I. Intravenous indomethacin was given
in three doses at 24-hour intervals depending on patient
age (<48 hours of life, 0.2 mg/kg, 0.1 mg/kg, and 0.1 mg/
kg; 2e7 days of life, 0.2 mg/kg; and > 7 days of life,
0.2 mg/kg, 0.25 mg/kg, and 0.25 mg/kg).
Infants who received oral ibuprofen were stratified into
Group O. Oral ibuprofen (Idofen, standard, Taiwan; 1 mL
equals 20 mg of ibuprofen, pH: 4.6) was given in three
doses: 10 mg/kg, 5 mg/kg, and 5 mg/kg with a 24-hour
interval between each dose. Ibuprofen was administered
through an oral-gastric tube, followed by flushing with
distilled water. Contraindications to either agent included
serum creatinine > 1.7 mg/dL or platelet count <70,000/
mm3
. The indication of PDA ligation included a contraindication
to medical therapy, oliguria, gastrointestinal
bleeding, and pulmonary hemorrhage.
2.3. Subgroup analysis
Infants in Group O and those in Group I were subdivided into
three subgroups according to birth weight: <1000 g,
1000e1249 g, and 1250e1499 g.
2.4. Outcome
The primary outcome in our study was closure of PDA.
Treatment failure in Group O was defined in patients that
required intravenous indomethacin or surgical ligation
after initial treatment with oral ibuprofen. Treatment
failure in Group I was defined in patients that required
surgical ligation or required conversion to oral therapy
after initial treatment with intravenous indomethacin.
Secondary outcomes included the development of oliguria
(urine out put <1 mL/kg/hour), elevated serum creatinine
(Cr > 1.2 mg/dL), NEC (any stage, radiographic signs
include dilated bowel loops, paucity of gas, a “fixed
loop,” or pneumatosis intestinalis, according to Bell
classification of NEC), or upper gastrointestinal bleeding
(fresh blood and/or coffee-ground aspirate from the
nasogastric tube).
Oral ibuprofen vs. IV indomethacin with PDA 3472.5. Statistical analysis
Data were analyzed according to the intention-to-treat
principle. Statistical analysis of data was performed using
the Chi-square test, the Mann Whitney U test, or Fisher’s
exact test. Relative risk and 95% confidence intervals were
estimated by Poisson regression with robust error variance.
Continuous data, such as weight, gestational age, serum
blood urea nitrogen and Cr levels, and urine output are
presented as mean standard deviation. A p value of
<0.05 was considered to indicate statistical significance.
All statistical analyses were performed on a personal
computer with the statistical package SPSS for Windows
(Version 15.0, SPSS, Chicago, IL, USA).
3. Results
During the period of January 2005 to December 2010,
a total of 468 very low birth weight infants survived to the
third day of hospitalization in the neonatal intensive care
unit of the Changhwa Christian Hospital. Among them,
185 (39.5%) had Doppler-ultrasonographic evidence of
PDA. Five infants were excluded, three for right-to-left
shunting and two for severe IVH. PDA spontaneously
closed without pharmacologic treatment after fluid
restriction in 26 infants and 14 sick infants received
surgical ligation without medical therapy. A total of 88
infants received intravenous indomethacin and 52 infants
were treated with oral ibuprofen (Figure 1). The baseline
characteristics were similar between both groups of
neonates (Table 1).
3.1. Primary outcome
Closure of PDA was achieved in 32 (61.5%) of the infants in
the oral ibuprofen group and in 62 (70.5%) of the infants in
the intravenous indomethacin group (p Z 0.342, Table 2).
The subgroup analysis revealed that oral ibuprofen treatment
was more effective at closing PDA in patients with
higher birth body weights (closure rate: 71.4% in infants
weighing 1250e1499 g; 69.2% for infants weighing
1000e1249 g; and 44.4% for infants weighing <1000 g);
however, there was no significant difference in the rate of
closure between the three subgroups (Table 2).
In Group I, failure to close the PDA with intravenous
indomethacin occurred in three infants (3.4%), although
closure was achieved after the regimen was switched to
oral ibuprofen therapy. In Group I, 26.1% (23/88) of the
infants required surgical PDA ligations after failure of
medical therapy. Among them, oliguria occurred in 11
infants, UGI bleeding occurred in five, and NEC in three.
In Group O, failure to close the PDA with oral ibuprofen
occurred in 11 infants (21.2%) although the PDA was
closed successfully in those neonates after the regimen
was switched to intravenous indomethacin therapy. Nine
infants (17.3%; 9/52) in Group O received surgical PDA
ligation after failure of medical treatment (Figure 2).
Among the nine infants, one infant developed oliguria,
two infants developed UGI bleeding, and none developed
NEC.
3.2. Secondary outcome
The incidence of elevated serum creatinine was signifi-
cantly lower in Group O than in group I [p Z 0.022, relative
risk (RR) Z 0.308, 95% confidence interval (CI):
0.112e0.844; (Table 3)]. The subgroup analysis revealed
that serum creatinine levels were significantly lower among
patients in Group O with birth body weights ranging from
1000 g to 1249 g (p<0.001) and among those with weights
ranging from 1250 to 1499 g (p < 0.001) than among their
counterparts in Group I.
During the first week after treatment, oliguria developed
in nine infants (9.6%) in Group O and in 33 infants
(37.5%) in Group I (p Z 0.002, RR Z 0.256, 95% CI:
0.107e0.616; Table 3). Urine output (g/kg/hour) was
significantly higher among infants in Group O on Days 3e7 of
therapy (1.79 0.61 vs. 1.44 0.74, p Z 0.002). The
subgroup analysis revealed that urine output was signifi-
cantly higher among infants with birth body weights
> 1000 g than among infants in the other two body weight
categories (p Z 0.035).
The incidence rates of upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage
and NEC were lower in Group O than in Group I (17.3%
vs. 23.9%; 3.8% vs. 11.4%, Table 4); however, there was no
significant difference in incidence of those two adverse
events between the three birth body weight subgroups
(Table 4).
There was
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