Journal of perinatology : official journal of the California Perinatal Association
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Before the use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), infants with a severe form of congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) had a high mortality and morbidity. Recent studies have shown an improvement in the survival of these infants after ECMO treatment; however, the existing data do not provide sufficient informations regarding the quality of survival and developmental outcome of these infants. The objective of this study was to evaluate survival, intracranial lesions, and the neurodevelopmental outcome of infants with CDH treated with ECMO. ⋯ Our preliminary findings indicate that 35% of infants with severe CDH requiring ECMO had central nervous system abnormalities (intracranial lesions, including ventricular dilatation). The survival rate in our study population is consistent with recent reports. As a group, infants with severe CDH display mild neuromotor and cognitive delay in development at 24 months of age.