Introduction: In infants with ductal dependent pulmonary blood flow (PBF), initial palliation with ductus arteriosus stent (DAS) or modified Blalock-Taussig shunt (BTS) have comparable mortality but discrepant morbidity. The impact of palliation strategy on somatic growth and feeding regimen is unknown. Methods: Retrospective multicenter study of infants with ductal dependent PBF palliated with DAS or BTS from 2008-15 at the 4 centers of the Congenital Catheterization Research Collaborative. Subjects with a defined interstage, the time between initial and subsequent palliation or repair, were included. Propensity score was used to account for baseline differences between groups. The primary outcome was change in weight-for-age Z score (WFA-Z). Secondary outcomes included % of pts on: all oral (PO) feeds, feeding related meds, higher calorie feeds, and with feeding related readmission. Subgroup analysis was performed in one (1V) and two ventricle (2V) groups. Results: The cohort included 66 DAS (43.9% 1V) and 195 BTS (54.4% 1V) subjects. Prematurity was more common in the DAS group (p=0.05), but birth weight, length, and pre-palliation GI pathology were not different. Change in WFA-Z did not differ between DAS and BTS groups (-0.44 vs -0.31, p=0.55) over the interstage. However, change in WFA-Z favored DAS during the inpatient interstage (-0.33 vs -0.63, p=0.005) and BTS during the outpatient interstage (0.37 vs -0.14, p=0.03). At initial hospital discharge, DAS patients were more likely to be on PO feeds (p=0.005) and not on feeding related meds (p=0.002), which persisted through the interstage (p=0.03). In subgroup analysis, 2V but not 1V patients demonstrated the significant changes in WFA-Z detailed above. Amongst 2V subjects, DAS patients were more likely to be PO fed (p<0.001), not on feeding related meds (p<0.001), and on lower calorie feeds (p=0.03). Feeding related readmission was more common in the 2V BTS group (p=0.008). Conclusions: In this multicenter comparison of infants with ductal dependent PBF who underwent DAS or BTS for initial palliation, adjusted for baseline differences, there was no difference in overall interstage somatic growth. DAS was associated with a simpler feeding regimen and, in 2V patients, fewer feeding related readmissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]