Optimal gestational age at delivery in isolated left-sided congenital diaphragmatic hernia

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the morbidity and mortality of neonates with left-sided isolated congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) according to gestational age at delivery. METHODS: This was a retrospective study of fetuses diagnosed prenatally with isolated left-sided CDH that were delivered in the University Hospitals of Antoine Béclère-Bicêtre and Leuven between 1 January 2010 and 31 December 2018. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to calculate cumulative survival at 28 days after birth according to gestational age at delivery. The association between gestational age at delivery, as a continuous variable, and survival at 28 days was modeled using a fractional polynomial. Adjustment for position of the liver, management center and mode of delivery was performed. The association was also evaluated according to the severity of CDH, as defined by the observed-to-expected lung-to-head ratio (o/e-LHR), which was classified as severe (o/e-LHR 45%). RESULTS: We included 213 fetuses with isolated left-sided CDH, with a median gestational age at delivery of 38 + 2 weeks (interquartile range, 37 + 0 to 39 + 1 weeks). The survival rates at 28 days and at 6 months were 66.7% (142/213) and 64.3% (137/213), respectively. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed a higher survival rate at 28 days for babies delivered between 37 + 0 and 38 + 6 weeks than for those delivered at or after 39 + 0 weeks (log-rank test, P