Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Management: A Systematic Review and Care Pathway Description Including...

Although it is well established that standardized treatment protocols improve outcomes for infants with congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH), there remains variance between existing protocols.

The purpose of this article was to review current literature on protocols for CDH management in the preoperative period and to describe a care pathway integrating best practice elements from existing literature with volume-targeted ventilation strategies previously in place at a major tertiary care center in the Pacific Northwestern United States.

A systematic review of literature was performed according to PRISMA guidelines to identify current publications on CDH protocols and examine them for similarities and differences, particularly regarding ventilation strategies.

Although existing protocols from multiple regions worldwide shared common goals of reducing barotrauma and delaying surgery until a period of clinical stabilization was achieved, their strategies varied. None included volume-targeted ventilation with pressure limitation as a method of avoiding ventilation-induced lung injury (VILI).

Institutions that routinely manage infants with CDH should have a standardized treatment protocol in place, as this is shown to improve outcomes. This may include volume-targeted ventilation with pressure limitation as a successful VILI-limiting strategy.

While standardized protocols have been shown to increase survival rate for infants with CDH, more research is needed to determine what these protocols should include. Specifically, there is a need for future study on the most appropriate ventilation mode for this population.