Efficacy of Indomethacin in Pharmacological Closure of PDA in Preterm Neonates: A Prospective Study from Tertiary Care Centre in Rural India

Patent ductusarteriosus (PDA) is a fetal shunt necessary for intrauterine survival of the baby, however its closure at birth occurs as pulmonary vascular resistance drops and lungs get expanded for participating in ventilation. However, PDA remains patent in a large proportion of preterm babies and by day -7, 87% of babies <24 wk gestation have a PDA which hinders in ventilation and causes ductal steal to vital organs. Hence, we aimed to study pharmacological closure of ductus in preterm babies.

1) To study the efficacy of COX inhibitor, Indomethacin in ductal closure in preterm babies <34 wk gestation. 2) To compare the symptomatology of PDA in different groups of preterm babies <34 wk GA.

A Hospital-based prospective study was conducted in tertiary care NICU.A total of 104 consecutive, eligible preterm babies <34 wk with echocardiographically documented PDA. Indomethacin (COX inhibitor) was administered orally in a dose of 0.2 mg/kg 12 h for 3 doses and the babies underwent Echo study in first 48 h, after2 days, 7days, and weekly thereafter till PDA closure. A second cycle of indomethacin was repeated if PDA did not respond to the initial treatment.

75/104 (72%) PDAs closed with indomethacin while 13(12.5%) did not respond, and 16(15.38%) showed a reduction in the calibre of PDA. 26–30 wk group showed a brisk response to ductal closure with indomethacin within 108.1±12.44 h, and a mean no. of cycles of indomethacin of 0.98±5.75.

With indomethacin we achieved 72% (75/104) closure rates. The best response to indomethacin was noted in 30–32 wk GA group, while maximum nonresponders were in 32–34 wk; suggesting as gestation increases, response to PG inhibitors decreases.