The persistent ductus arteriosus remains a common congenital pathology. Although percutaneous closure is an attractive alternative to the surgical treatment for infants weighing less than 6kg.

The objective was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of percutaneous closure in low-weight children.

Children weighing less than 6kg who underwent percutaneous closure of patent ductus arteriosus in Cardiology department of Sahloul University Hospital during 13 years between September 2003 and June 2016 were retrospectively included.

Eighteen children (mean weight: 5.49kg [range: 4.2–6]; mean age: 10.9 months [range: 3–85]) were included. The main circumstance for discovery was difficulty in breathing (100%). The average angiographic persistent ductus arteriosus diameter was 3.08mm [range: 1.12–5.68mm]. Fifteen children (83.35%) had pulmonary hypertension of cases. Eleven patients (61.2%) had a channel A-type, 5 patients (27.8%) had C type, un patient (5.5%) had D type and un patient (5.5%) had E type on the Krichenko classification. A device was implanted in all cases. The prosthesis was implanted successfully in 94.44 of cases. The only failure was explained by immediate embolization of the device.

The average duration of the procedure was 50±10min. After a device was installed, complete occlusion was obtained in 90% at day 1, 92% at a month and 100% at 12 months. Two complications occurred: pulmonary protrusion in one case and aortic protrusion in another case. No late embolization occurred after 37.5 months of median follow-up [range: 3–138]. During this monitoring, we noted a marked clinical improvement with normalization of pulmonary pressure.

The study shows the feasibility and the efficacy of percutaneous closure in persistent ductus arteriosus in infants weighing less than 6kg. It confirms the effectiveness of the procedure with a relatively low prevalence of complications.