title: Congenital diaphragmatic hernia: advances in prenatal therapy.
abstract: Congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) is one of the most common causes of neonatal morbidity and mortality. The clinical spectrum of CDH ranges from minimally affected infants who do well with modern neonatal care to severely affected infants who die despite all interventions. Two decades of research have led to advances in the prenatal diagnosis of CDH and have better defined the natural history of CDH. Fetuses with CDH now can be stratified into "low" and "high" risk groups based on sonographic parameters. "Low risk" fetuses have an excellent chance of survival with postnatal therapy. Prenatal intervention is reserved for "high risk" fetuses. Ongoing research is focused on improving both prenatal and postnatal treatment of these severely affected infants.
authors.affiliation: The Fetal Treatment Center, Department of Surgery, Division of Pediatric Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, 513 Parnassus Avenue, HSW-1601, San Francisco, California 94143-0570, USA.
authors.forename: Roman M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Sydorak
authors.forename: Michael R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Harrison
mesh_terms: D015199:Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation; D005315:Fetal Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D005332:Fetoscopy; D005333:Fetus / Q000601:surgery*; D006548:Hernia, Diaphragmatic / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D065630:Hernias, Diaphragmatic, Congenital; D006801:Humans; D007442:Intubation, Intratracheal; D011379:Prognosis; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D014132:Trachea / Q000196:embryology; D014463:Ultrasonography