Comparison of Outcomes and Costs of Transcatheter Therapeutic Intervention and Surgical Ligation for the Treatment of Patent Ductus Arteriosus.

Dear Editor, Patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) is a persistence of fetal communication, ductus arteriosus, which connects the aorta and pulmonary artery. One of the most common congenital heart conditions, PDA accounts for approximately 10% of all congenital heart defects.1 Closure of the PDA (other than the silent duct) is recommended to prevent congestive heart failure, infection and pulmonary hypertension.2,3 Methods to close PDA have evolved over the years with more options developed with similar safety and effi cacy profi le. This has opened up avenues for research, looking at not just clinical outcomes, but also taking into consideration costs, which may drive the selection strategy. Therefore, the need for local data on costs to guide practice and infl uence decisionmaking is imperative. We aimed to compare the outcomes and cost of device closure through the transcatheter route using occluder device (ADO) versus surgical ligation (SL) in patients who underwent PDA corrective procedures.