Reduced hospital mortality with surgical ligation of patent ductus arteriosus in premature, extremely low birth weight infants: a propensity score-matched outcome study

To evaluate outcomes after surgical ligation (SL) of patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) in premature, extremely low birth weight (ELBW) infants. Background: Optimal management of PDA in this specialized population remains undefined. Currently, surgical therapy is largely reserved for infants failing medical management. To date, a large-scale, risk-matched populationbased study has not been performed to evaluate differences in mortality and resource utilization. Methods: Data on identified premature (