Abstract
Introduction Several echocardiographic scoring systems have been developed to assess the severity
of patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) shunting in preterm infants.
Objective The objective of this study was to compare the ability of two different scoring systems
to evaluate the hemodynamic significance of the PDA and to predict long-term PDA-associated
morbidities.
Subjects El-Khuffash cohort (previously described) was derived from a multicenter, prospective,
observational study conducted in tertiary neonatal intensive care units in Ireland,
Canada, and Australia.
Results A total of 141 infants with a mean gestational age of 26 ± 1.4 weeks and a mean birth
weight of 952 ± 235 g were evaluated on day 2 of life. The two scores were well correlated
with each other and both scores positively predicted chronic lung disease/death in
this population.
Conclusion There appears to be an overall stepwise progression in the incidence of poor outcome
parameters from “closed” to “borderline” to “hemodynamically significant” PDA. Both
the El-Khuffash and Shaare Zedek scores are predictive of PDA-associated morbidities.
Keywords
premature neonate - patent ductus arteriosus - echocardiography
