Transcatheter Closure of Symptomatic Arterial Duct in Infants Younger Than 1 Year Old

Transcatheter closure is currently considered the first-choice therapeutic option in patent arterial duct (AD), although this approach remains challenging in younger patients. To evaluate feasibility, safety, and mid-term efficacy of percutaneous AD closure using different devices in symptomatic infants <12 months old. Among the 483 patients who underwent transcatheter AD closure at our institution from April 2000 to January 2012, 69 were <12 months old. All patients showed cardiac overload at echocardiography, and 72 % of them were on anticongestive therapy. Based on ductal morphology and local anatomy, AD closure was attempted using detachable coils in 24 cases (group A) or the Amplatzer Duct Occluder (AGA Medical, Golden Valley, MN) device in 45 cases (group B). Procedural feasibility was 95.7 % without any difference between groups (95.8 % vs. 95.6 %, p = NS) as were fluoroscopy and procedural times. AD size was 2.5 ± 0.9 mm, and QP/QS ratio was 2.2 ± 1.1, with both being significantly higher in group B [2.1 ± 0.9 vs. 2.6 ± 0.9 mm (p = 0.04) and 1.7 ± 0.8 vs. 2.5 ± 1.2 (p = 0.009), respectively]. Overall complication rate was 1.5 %, without any difference between groups, as was the occlusion rate at hospital discharge (86 %) and over midterm follow-up (55 ± 36 months) (98.5 %). Percutaneous closure of symptomatic AD might be considered effective and safe in very young infants by tailoring the device choice to ductal morphology and local anatomy. In this setting, the controlled-release coil option was shown to be as effective as the ADO device during midterm follow-up.