Predictors of prognosis in neonates with congenital diaphragmatic hernia: experience of 12 years
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Keywords

congenital diaphragmatic hernia
congenital abnormality
newborn infant
prognosis
mortality
morbidity

How to Cite

Granjo Morais, C., Rocha, G., Flor-de-Lima, F., Éden, P., Fragoso, A. C., & Guimarães, H. (2017). Predictors of prognosis in neonates with congenital diaphragmatic hernia: experience of 12 years. Journal of Pediatric and Neonatal Individualized Medicine (JPNIM), 6(1), e060126. https://doi.org/10.7363/060126

Abstract

Introduction: Congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) is a severe malformation, displaying relevant mortality and morbidity rates in newborns.

Aim: To characterize clinically and demographically all neonatal cases of CDH admitted to a level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit during a 12-year period and to evaluate the predictive value of baseline characteristics on mortality and morbidity at discharge.

Methods: Maternal/infant clinical and electronic records were ret-
rospectively reviewed. All neonates with posterolateral CDH admitted between January 2003 and December 2014 were included.

Results: Fifty-three newborns were included. Overall mortality during hospitalization was 22/53 (41.5%). Clinical characteristics associated with mortality were the presence of intrathoracic liver (p = 0.005), intrathoracic stomach (p = 0.015), elevated arterial pCO2 or lower pH values at admission (respectively, p = 0.001 and p < 0.001), pre-ductal oxygen saturation < 85% at admission (p = 0.012) and surgical repair with prosthetic patch (p = 0.041). Morbidity at discharge was reported in 7 (22.6%) survivors. Stomach herniation and sepsis were associated with higher morbidity (respectively, p = 0.012 and p = 0.029). In a logistic regression, patch repair was the only variable with predictive value for death during hospitalization, with an odds ratio (OR) of 15 (95% CI 0.98-228.9), and intrathoracic stomach was a predictor of morbidity at discharge (OR = 15.7, 95% CI 1.4-174.2).

Conclusion: Structural characteristics, namely defect size and presence of intrathoracic stomach, remain the primary determinants of neonatal prognosis in CDH. Although post-natal approaches have progressively proven their value in increasing survival and improving management of high-risk cases, future researches should continue focusing on the definition of foetal anatomical markers of severity and prenatal treatment of CDH.

https://doi.org/10.7363/060126
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