Trend and Outcomes for Surgical Versus Transcatheter Patent Ductus Arteriosus Closure in Neonates and Infants at US Children’s Hospitals

Background Pharmacologic therapy for patent ductus arteriosus closure is not consistently successful. Surgical ligation (SL) or transcatheter closure (TC) may be needed. Large multicenter analyses comparing outcomes and resource use between SL and TC are lacking. We hypothesized that patients undergoing TC have improved outcomes compared with SL, including mortality, hospital and intensive care unit length of stay, and mechanical ventilation. Methods and Results Using the 2016 to 2020 Pediatric Health Information System database, characteristics, outcomes, and charges of patients aged <1 year who underwent TC or SL were analyzed. A total of 678 inpatients undergoing TC (n=503) or SL (n=175) were identified. Surgical patients were younger (0.1 versus 0.53 years; P <0.001) and more premature (60% versus 20.3%; P <0.001). Surgical patients had higher mortality (1.7% versus 0%; P =0.02). Using inverse probability of treatment weighting by the propensity score, multivariable‐adjusted analyses demonstrated favorable outcomes in TC: intensive care unit admission rates (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 0.2; 95% CI, 0.11–0.32; P <0.001); mechanical ventilation rates (adjusted OR, 0.3; 95% CI, 0.19–0.56; P <0.001); and shorter hospital (adjusted coefficient, 2 days shorter; 95% CI, 1.3–2.7; P <0.001) and postoperative (adjusted coefficient, 1.2 days shorter; 95% CI, 0.1–2.3; P =0.039) stays. Overall charges and readmission rates were similar. Among premature neonates and infants, hospital (adjusted difference in medians, 4 days; 95% CI, 1.7–6.3 days; P <0.001) and postoperative stays (adjusted difference in medians, 3 days; 95% CI, 1.1–4.9 days; P =0.002) were longer for SL. Conclusions TC is associated with lower mortality and reduced length of stay compared with SL. Rates of TC continue to increase compared with SL.