Comparison of oral Ibuprofen and intravenous indomethacin for the treatment of patent ductus arteriosus in extremely low birth weight infants.

OBJECTIVE There are few published reports concerning the efficacy of oral ibuprofen for the treatment of patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) in extremely low birth weight (ELBW) infants. Oral ibuprofen was compared to intravenous indomethacin regarding efficacy and safety in the treatment of PDA in infants weighting less than 1,000g at birth. METHOD This was a retrospective study in a single center. Data on ELBW infants who had an echocardiographically confirmed PDA were collected. The infants were treated with either intravenous indomethacin or oral ibuprofen. Rate of ductal closure, need for additional treatment, drug-related side effects or complications, and mortality were compared between the two treatment groups. RESULT 26 infants who received indomethacin and 22 infants who received ibuprofen were studied. The overall rate of ductal closure was similar between the two treatments: it occurred in 23 of 26 infants (88.5%) treated with indomethacin, and in 18 of 22 infants (81.8%) treated with ibuprofen (p=0.40). The rate of surgical ligation (11.5% versus 18.2%; p=0.40) did not differ significantly between the two treatment groups. No significant difference was found in post-treatment serum creatinine concentrations between the two groups. There were no significant differences regarding additional side effects or complications. CONCLUSION In ELBW infants, oral ibuprofen is as efficacious as intravenous indomethacin for the treatment of PDA. There were no differences between the two drugs with respect to safety. Oral ibuprofen could be used as an alternative agent for the treatment of PDA in ELBW infants.