The role of patent ductus arteriosus ligation in bronchopulmonary dysplasia: reexamining a randomized controlled trial.

Objective: To reexamine data from a randomized controlled trial of prophylactic ductus ligation to determine whether ligation contributes directly to the development of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) in extremely low birth weight infants.

Study Design: The control group underwent ligation only if they had development of a symptomatic patent ductus arteriosus (PDA). The Prophylactic Ligation group underwent ligation within 24 hours of birth regardless of the presence or absence of symptoms of a PDA.

Association of patent ductus arteriosus and phototherapy in infants weighing less than 1000 grams.

To determine the relationship of phototherapy and patent ductus arteriosus, we analyzed prospectively collected data on 295 infants with birth weight of 501 to 999 gm admitted from 1984 through 1988. Seventy-four percent were evaluated by an imaging study to aid in the detection of a silent patent ductus arteriosus. Overall incidence of patent ductus arteriosus in the study population was 63%.