Late-presenting congenital diaphragmatic hernia.
BACKGROUND
This study was undertaken to highlight the clinical profile, misdiagnosis, surgical treatment,and prognosis of late-presenting congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) cases in a tertiary level hospital.


METHODS
This retrospective study included all the babies and children >1 month of age with CDH who were admitted in our Hospital (Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, Srinagar, Kashmir, India) during the period between January 2008 and December 2013. Babies with age <1 month were excluded from the study. Data regarding clinical profile, operative records, and follow-up was reviewed and analysed statistically.


RESULTS
A total of 20 patients were included in this study. The clinical picture ranged from respiratory distress (13 patients) to non-specific gastrointestinal complaints (5 patients). In two patients, CDH was misdiagnosed as pneumothorax and had got chest tube inserted in other hospitals before referral to this tertiary care centre. In 14 patients chest, X-ray revealed the diagnosis of CDH and in remaining five patients (including the two patients with misdiagnosis) further investigations were undertaken to establish the diagnosis. Age ranged from 45 days to 17 years with an average age of 58.9 months. There were 12 male and 8 female patients. In all the 20 patients, surgical procedures were undertaken with the retrieval of herniated contents from the thoracic cavity and repair of the diaphragmatic defect. There was no mortality in our series. All the 20 patients were followed-up for a period ranging from 6 months to 5 years (median 3.1 years).


CONCLUSIONS
Late-presenting CDH can have diverse clinical presentation. Late diagnosis and misdiagnosis can result in significant morbidity and potential mortality if these cases are not managed properly at an appropriate stage. Outcome is favourable if these patients are expeditiously identified and surgically repaired.
Department of Paediatric and Neonatal Surgery, SKIMS, Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India.
Raashid
R
Hamid
Aejaz A
AA
Baba
Altaf H
AH
Shera
Sajad A
SA
Wani
Tahleel
T
Altaf
Mohd H
MH
Kant
D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D057210:Delayed Diagnosis / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003951:Diagnostic Errors / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D065630:Hernias, Diaphragmatic, Congenital / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000601:surgery*; D059685:Herniorrhaphy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007194:India; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D011182:Postoperative Care / Q000379:methods; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D062606:Tertiary Care Centers; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014945:Wound Healing / Q000502:physiology