Could the stomach site help predict outcome in babies with left sided congenital diaphragmatic hernia diagnosed antenatally?

The site of the stomach in 36 babies presenting postnatally with left sided congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) was assessed as a predictor of outcome. Babies with a thoracic stomach had a higher mortality (P less than .0005), and more frequently developed significant persistent foetal circulation (PFC) (P less than .001), than babies in whom the stomach was normally sited. Normal stomach site was associated with 100% survival and only a 20% incidence of significant PFC. It is possible that stomach site may be the most accurate predictor of outcome in left-sided CDH diagnosed antenatally, and may thus help in planning perinatal and postnatal management. It may also open the door for prenatal surgical correction of CDH by predicting a poor prognostic group or, perhaps more importantly, by predicting those babies with a good prognosis in whom antenatal surgery should not be attempted.