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I NTRO D U C TIO NCongenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH), a rare malformation with an incidence of 1.7-5.7 per 10,000 live births, remains one of the most fatal causes of severe respiratory failure.(1,2) CDH was first described by Riveriusin 1672, (3) with the types of defects classified by Morgagni in 1769.(4) The posterolateral defect that we now know as the most common type of CDH was described by Bochdalek in 1848.
M E TH O DSAll CDH cases diagnosed antenatally in KKH between January 2006 and December 2010 were obtained using the discharge summary codes and retrospectively reviewed.Population denominators were obtained from KKH's perinatal statistics database. The incidences were calculated according to the format used by the National Birth Defects Registry.Detailed information was collected from the maternal medical records, which included demographic characteristics such as gestational age at diagnosis, method of diagnosis, ultrasonographic findings, prognostication factors (e.g. LHR,FLV and MPA diameter), presence of other anomalies, followup care (e.g. karyotyping, frequency of follow-up appointments and referral to paediatric surgical service), outcome of