Efficacy of acetaminophen for the treatment of preterm infants with symptomatic patent ductus arteriosus: A meta-analysis

Abstract

Objective To systemically review the efficacy of acetaminophen for the treatment of preterm infants with symptomatic patent ductus arteriosus(PDA). Methods Literatures about the efficacy of acetaminophen for the treatment of preterm infants with PDA were searched in PubMed, the Cochrane Library, Web of science, CNKI, Wanfang and VIP from the establishment of the data base until March 2017.Two researchers screened literatures according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, extracted the data, and assessed the risk of bias independently.Then meta-analysis was performed by RevMan5.2 software. Results There were a total of 8 randomized controlled trials(RCTs)in the meta-analysis, including 386 cases in the acetaminophen group and 416 cases in the control group.The results of meta-analysis showed that there was no significant difference in the PDA closure rate between the acetaminophen group and the control group [mean difference(MD)=0.91, 95% confidence interval(CI): 0.62~1.31, P=0.60]. The rate of adverse reaction in acetaminophen group was lower than the control group(MD=0.41, 95%CI: 0.28~0.62, P<0.001). Conclusion Acetaminophen is effective and has lower adverse reaction compared with the traditional nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for the treatment of preterm infants with PDA. Key words: Acetaminophen; Patent ductus arteriosus; Meta-analysis