Congenital diaphragmatic hernias (CDHs), though not common, are certainly concerning whenever they occur. While we often defer their care to our neonatal pediatric surgical colleagues, we still like to stay involved with the parents of these infants and help them get answers to their questions, the most notable often being—“will my baby be ok after their diaphragmatic hernia is fixed?”. This week Putnam et al. (10.1542/peds.2016-2043) report out on the findings of their international prospective cohort study looking at what factors might be associated with the most morbidity at the time of discharge of these infants.
The study found a host of pulmonary, neurologic, and gastrointestinal morbidities after discharge—but most notably was the finding that the greatest predictor of such morbidities is the size of the hernia defect requiring repair. This study demonstrates this association and gives you plenty of information to share with your patients as to what to expect after the hernia is identified and repaired. It’s a simple operation to read this article that may help you in working with families of infants who have this congenital abnormality.
