Selective Early Medical Treatment of Patent Ductus Arteriosus in Extremely Low Gestational Age Infants: A Pilot RCT

Background: Among preterm infants, those born at a gestational age less than 26 weeks are considered the most vulnerable with a high risk of short- and long-term health problems that include chronic lung disease, brain bleeds, gut injury, kidney failure and death. Patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) is the most common heart condition with almost 70% preterm infants in this gestational age group being diagnosed with a PDA. Though many PDAs spontaneously resolve on their own, research suggests that if the PDA persists, it may contribute to a number of these short- and long-term health problems. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications such as ibuprofen are commonly used to treat a PDA. Such drugs can also have harmful effects on the gut and kidneys of extremely preterm infants. Therefore, we are unsure if early treatment of a symptomatic PDA in this age group is at all beneficial. Given the wide variation in PDA treatment approaches in this age group, a randomized trial design, where extremely preterm infants with a symptomatic PDA are randomly assigned to early treatment or no early treatment, is essential to address this question.

Purpose of the study: The overall purpose of this pilot study is to assess the feasibility of conducting a large study to explore the following research question: In preterm infants born <26 weeks' gestation, is a strategy of selective early medical treatment of a symptomatic PDA better than no treatment at all in the first week of life?

The main feasibility objectives of this study are:

1. To assess how many eligible infants can be enrolled in the study

2. To assess how many enrolled infants properly complete the study protocol

Importance: To our knowledge this will be the first study on PDA management in preterm infants that specifically aims to enroll preterm infants born at <26 weeks of gestational age who are at the highest risk for PDA-related problems but have been mostly under-represented in previous PDA studies.