Non-Invasive Detection of Tissue Oxygen Deprivation in Premature Infants With Patent Ductus Arteriosus.

The proposed research evaluates tissue oxygenation (StO2) as measured by resonance raman spectroscopy (RRS) in premature infants with and without patent ductus arteriosus (PDA). This is a prospective observational study of infants born at \< 30 weeks of gestation. The primary aim of this study is to determine if the difference in pre- and post-ductal StO2 as detected by RRS is more significant in premature infants with PDA in comparison to infants without PDA. The secondary aim of this study is to determine if the difference in pre- and post-ductal StO2 as detected by RRS is more significant in infant who develop serious adverse events.