Do we need another NSAID instead of indomethacin for treatment of ductus arteriosus in preterm infants?
Up until now indomethacin is the most extensively evaluated non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) in neonatal medicine. If used with due consideration to the physiologic role of prostaglandins, a 90 success rate can be reached and serious adverse drug effects prevented. Conclusion: The results reported by Bellander et al. support the idea that we do not need to study other substances of the same therapeutic class, with the same target–cyclooxygenase–in the prostaglandin cascade and with a similar pharmacological profile. Instead, indomethacin treatment regimes should be further improved with respect to their efficacy and safety.
