title: Operative closure of patent ductus arteriosus in the neonatal intensive care unit.
abstract: Preterm infants undergoing surgical closure of patent ductus arteriosus are usually critically ill and are suffering from many concomitant diseases. The high risk of increased morbidity in transferring them from the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) to a distant operating room is generally recognized. For this reason we report our experience in 33 premature infants with patent ductus arteriosus who have been operated in the NICU over a six-year period. There were no operative or immediate postoperative deaths and the 30 days hospital mortality was 6%. Based upon these findings we can confirm that operative closure of PDA can be performed safely in the NICU.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anaesthesia, University Hospital, Gent, Belgium.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mortier
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ongenae
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Vermassen
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Van Aken
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: De Roose
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Van Haesebrouck
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Vandeveire
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rolly
mesh_terms: D015897:Comorbidity; D004374:Ductus Arteriosus, Patent / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D007363:Intensive Care Units, Neonatal; D008026:Ligation / Q000379:methods; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome