title: Influence of gender on mortality and need for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in neonates with congenital diaphragmatic hernia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the influence of gender in neonates with congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) on survival and to assess the necessity of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) therapy.
  
  
  METHODS
  All parturients with newborns suffering from CDH were included. A total of 425 infants with CDH were analyzed. The primary outcome parameters evaluated were the necessity of ECMO and the survival. Secondary outcome parameters were the mode of delivery, the arterial umbilical cord pH value, the Apgar score, and the postpartum day of death. Cases with incomplete data were excluded.
  
  
  RESULTS
  An analysis of the gender distribution of neonates in our study revealed that more males (n=248) than females (n=177) suffered from CDH. This represented a male versus female gender ratio of 58.4% to 41.6%, a significantly different ratio from that for neonates without CDH (p=0.003). Comparing both groups, statistical analysis showed no significant differences in mode of delivery, arterial umbilical cord blood pH, Apgar score, or CDH-relevant parameters of postpartum survival, including the need for ECMO therapy.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  CDH occurred significantly more frequently in male newborns. However, there were no significant differences in postnatal survival nor in the necessity of ECMO therapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Medical Center Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany.
authors.forename: Sebastian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Berlit
authors.forename: Amadeus
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hornemann
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Schaible
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Neff
authors.forename: Regine
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Schaffelder
authors.forename: Jörn
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Siemer
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sütterlin
authors.forename: Sven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kehl
mesh_terms: D015199:Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation; D005260:Female; D006548:Hernia, Diaphragmatic / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy; D065630:Hernias, Diaphragmatic, Congenital; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012737:Sex Factors