Table 1.

Ibuprofen administration to newborns with patent ductus arteriosus – neurodevelopmental outcomes

Treatment comparison	Number of participants	Study type	Time frame	Neurodevelopmental outcomes	Other outcomes
Oral ibuprofen Intravenous ibuprofen(Eras, 2013)	N = 30 N = 27	Randomised controlled trial	18–24 months corrected age	Oral and i.v. ibuprofen treatment had similar neurological, neurosensory, and cognitive outcomes at 2 years of age. No comparison between treatment and no treatment.	No vision or hearing impairment noted for both ibuprofen groups.
Ibuprofen Paracetamol(Oncel, 2017)	N = 31 N = 30	Randomised controlled trial	18–24 months corrected age	No significant difference in neurodevelopmental outcomes between paracetamol and ibuprofen treatment. No comparison between treatment and no treatment.	Blindness and deafness observed in 1 of the ibuprofen treated newborns.
Ibuprofen Indomethacin(Rheinlander, 2010)	N = 70 N = 71	Retrospective	24 months	No difference in neurodevelopmental outcomes at 24 months between treatment groups. No comparison between treatment and no treatment.	No difference in hearing or vision impairment between indomethacin and ibuprofen groups.
Ibuprofen Surgical ligation No treatment(Bourgoin, 2016)	N = 248 N = 104 N = 505	Retrospective	24 months	Ibuprofen treatment did not improve ‘nonoptimal outcome’ at 24 months in comparison to no treatment. Surgical ligation significantly correlated with neurodevelopmental impairment at 24 months.	NB. Children with non‐optimal neuromotor and/or psychomotor assessments were regarded as having an overall ‘non‐optimal neurodevelopmental outcome’.
Medical management (ibuprofen/indomethacin) Surgical ligation(Weisz, 2017)	N = 570 N = 184	Retrospective	18–24 months corrected age	No difference in neurodevelopmental impairment between surgical ligation and medical treatment in adjusted model.	In unadjusted model there was a statistically significant increased risk of moderate‐severe neurodevelopmental impairment, chronic lung disease and retinopathy of prematurity