Objective To identify clinical factors associated with pulmonary hypertension and mortality in patients with congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH).
Study design A prospective cohort of neonates with a diaphragm defect identified at one of seven collaborating medical centers was studied. Echocardiograms were performed at one month and three months of age and analyzed at a central core by two cardiologists independently. Degree of pulmonary hypertension and survival were tested for association with clinical variables using Fischers exact test, chi-square and regression analysis.
Results 220 patients met inclusion criteria. Worse pulmonary hypertension measured at one month of life was associated with higher mortality. Other factors associated with mortality were need for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), patients inborn at the treating center and patients with a prenatal diagnosis of CDH. Interestingly, patients with right sided CDH did not have worse outcomes.
Conclusions Severity of pulmonary hypertension is associated with mortality in CDH. Other factors associated with mortality were birth weight, gestational age at birth, inborn status and need for ECMO.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.