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Published on: February 5, 2021
Long-term follow up of infants with congenital diaphragmatic hernia
Pietro Bagolan1, Francesco Morini
1Department of Medical and Surgical Neonatology, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, Rome, Italy. bagolan@opbg.net
Insights
Congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) survivors require long-term follow-up due to associated morbidities. This review details their outcomes and proposes a follow-up protocol for complex pediatric care.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Surgery
- Neonatal Care
- Medical Outcomes Research
Background:
- Improving congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) treatments increase survival rates, especially for severe cases.
- Long-term follow-up is crucial for managing complex morbidities in CDH survivors.
- Existing literature often focuses on survival rates, with less emphasis on long-term outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the long-term outcomes for infants surviving congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH).
- To propose a comprehensive follow-up protocol for CDH survivors.
- To address the complex care needs of this patient population.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of studies reporting long-term outcomes in congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) survivors.
- Synthesis of data on pulmonary, neurodevelopmental, and gastrointestinal sequelae.
- Development of a suggested follow-up protocol based on identified morbidities.
Main Results:
- CDH survivors face significant long-term morbidities, including pulmonary and neurodevelopmental deficits.
- Data on long-term outcomes for CDH patients is less extensive than survival data.
- A structured follow-up approach is necessary for optimal management.
Conclusions:
- Long-term follow-up is essential for congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) survivors due to persistent health issues.
- A standardized follow-up protocol can improve the management of CDH-related morbidities.
- Continued research into long-term outcomes is needed to refine care strategies.
Abstract:
With improving treatment strategies for congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) infants, an increase in survival of more severely affected patients can be expected. Consequently, more attention is now focused on long-term follow up of these patients. Many reports have emphasized associated morbidity, including pulmonary sequelae, neurodevelopmental deficits, gastrointestinal disorders, and other abnormalities. Therefore, survivors of CDH remain a complex patient population to care for throughout infancy and childhood, thus requiring long-term follow up. Much information has been provided from many centers regarding individual institutional improvements in overall survival. Few of these, however, have reported long-term follow up. The aim of this review is to describe the long-term outcome of survivors with CDH and to suggest a possible follow-up protocol for these patients.
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