Transcatheter stenting of the arterial duct is an alternative to surgical systemic to pulmonary artery shunt in neonates with parallel circulation. The current study compares haemodynamic and laboratory values in these patients for the first 48 hours after either intervention.

Neonates with ductal dependent pulmonary blood flow who underwent surgical shunt placement or catheter-based arterial ductal stent placement between January 2013 and January 2022 were identified. Haemodynamic variables included heart rate, blood pressure, near infrared spectroscopy, central venous pressure, vasoactive inotropic score, and arterial saturation. Laboratory variables collected included blood urea nitrogen, serum creatinine, and serum lactate. Variables were collected at baseline, upon post-procedural admission, 6 hours after admission, 12 hours after admission, and 48 hours after admission. Secondary outcomes included post-procedural mechanical ventilation duration, post-procedural hospital length of stay, need for reintervention, need for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, cardiac arrest, and inpatient mortality.

Of the 52 patients included, 38 (73%) underwent shunt placement while 14 (27%) underwent a stent placement. Heart rates, renal oxygen extraction ratio, and cerebral oxygen extraction ratio were significantly lower in the stent group (p = <0.01, 0.01, and < 0.01, respectively).

Haemoglobin and vasoactive inotropic scores were significantly lower in the stent group (p = <0.01, <0.01, respectively). The stent group had increased risk for cardiac arrest (p = 0.04).

Patients who undergo arterial ductal stent placement have lower heart rates, haemoglobin, renal oxygen extraction ratio, cerebral oxygen extraction ratio, and vasoactive inotropic score in the first 48 hours post-procedure compared to patients with shunt placement.