Does Patent Ductus Arteriosus stent improve outcomes compared to Modified Blalock-Taussig shunt in infants with ductal-dependent pulmonary blood flow?
PDA stenting is a reasonable alternative to BT shunting in select infants with ductal-dependent pulmonary blood flow, offering similar primary outcomes with potential benefits in morbidity and pulmonary artery growth.
In this multicenter comparison of palliative PDA stent and BT shunt for infants with ductal-dependent pulmonary blood flow adjusted for differences in patient factors, there was no difference in the primary end point, death or unplanned reintervention to treat cyanosis. However, other markers of morbidity and pulmonary artery size favored the PDA stent group, supporting PDA stent as a reasonable alternative to BT shunt in select patients.
Glatz et al. (Tue,) studied this question.