Improved lung compliance after ligation of patent ductus arteriosus in hyaline membrane disease.

APPRECIABLE left-to-right shunting through a patent ductus arteriosus frequently complicates the course of the premature infant with severe hyaline membrane disease, especially those with a birth weight <1,500 gin.' Early surgical ligation ~'3 or pharmacologic closure of the PDA'. ~ have been proposed to reduce the left-to-right shunt and to improve the outcome of these infants. No objective data showing improved pulmonary function following PDA ligation in infants with ttMD have been published. The purpose of this study was to determine whether lung compliance would change after PDA ligation in premature infants with severe HMD and large left-to-right shunts.