CAPS original papers
Mortality prediction in congenital diaphragmatic hernia

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpedsurg.2007.12.012Get rights and content

Abstract

Background

A validated risk stratification tool for congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) is required for accurate outcomes analyses. Existing mortality-predictive models include those of the CDH Study Group (CDHSG) based on birth weight and 5-minute Apgar score, the Canadian Neonatal Network (CNN) based on gestational age and admission score in Score for Neonatal Acute Physiology version II, and the Wilford Hall/Santa Rosa clinical prediction formula (WHSRPF) derived from blood gas measurements. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the calibration and discrimination of these predictive models using the Canadian Pediatric Surgical Network dataset.

Methods

Neonatal risk variables and birth hospital survivorship were collected prospectively in 11 perinatal centers, between May 2005 and October 2006. Actual vs predicted outcomes were analyzed for each equation to measure the calibration and discrimination of each model.

Results

Twenty (21.2%) of 94 infants with CDH died during birth hospitalization. The CDHSG model demonstrated superior discrimination (area under the receiver operator characteristic curve = 0.85; CNN = 0.79; WHSRPF = 0.63). Model calibration reflected by the Hosmer-Lemeshow P value was poorest with the WHSRPF = 0.37 and comparable between CDHSG and CNN (0.48 and 0.46, respectively).

Conclusion

Predictive outcome models are essential for risk-adjusted outcome analysis of CDH. The ideal predictive equation should prove robust across CDH datasets.

Section snippets

Materials and methods

The dataset was obtained from the CAPSNET, a multidisciplinary group of 16 Canadian perinatal centers that collect prospective, disease-specific data on both CDH, and gastroschisis (Appendix 1). A perinatal center is defined as one with a level III neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), pediatric anesthesia, and subspecialty surgery (at least general and neurosurgery) capabilities, and a geographically or functionally adjoined maternal-fetal medicine/advanced prenatal diagnosis center. Pediatric

Descriptive characteristics and outcomes of CDH cohort

The total number of NICU admissions during the study period from the 11 CAPSNET contributing sites was 10,094. One hundred thirteen CDH cases were entered into the database, of which 105 were liveborn. Eleven patients had open files (meaning they remained alive in hospital), whereas 94 achieved the outcome criteria of death or discharge from the hospital of birth, and these represent the study cohort. Of these, 62 (66.0%) were diagnosed in the prenatal period. Babies were born at a mean GA of

Discussion

Congenital diaphragmatic hernia presents with a spectrum of disease severity that makes it difficult to accurately predict outcome. Although some neonates are born virtually asymptomatic, others require maximal NICU treatment strategies, including high frequency oscillatory ventilation, inhaled nitric oxide, and ECMO before operative repair [11], [12], [13], [14], [15], [16]. Predicting the specific interventions a patient is likely to require as well as their overall outcome based on early

Acknowledgments

This study was supported by grant FRN no. 69050 from the Canadian Institute of Health Research (Ontario, Canada). We thank all the local CAPSNET data abstractors for their work in data collection and Jennifer Claydon for her assistance in compiling the data.

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  • Risk-stratification enables accurate single-center outcomes assessment in congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH)

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    This may simply reflect a center-specific lack of disparities in care or relative uniformity in the quality of regional prenatal and perinatal care. Multivariable analysis showed that ECMO use and blood gas markers of severe pulmonary hypertension and poor gas exchange were strong predictors of mortality, in keeping with multiple previous models examining mortality risk in CDH [6,18–21]. Unsurprisingly then, the ECMO risk model, which incorporates arterial PCO2 levels, was found to perform well at our center.

  • Prenatal prediction of survival in congenital diaphragmatic hernia: An audit of postnatal outcomes

    2019, Journal of Pediatric Surgery
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    Predictive outcomes were binned into severe (o/e ≤ 25%), moderate (o/e 26–45%), and mild (o/e > 45%) based upon prediction categories described in the TOTAL Trial [15]. A secondary analysis was performed to compare postnatal predictors of survival, including the CDH Study group (CDHSG) equation to prenatal predictors [16]. The CDHSG equation is a probability equation for survival based upon birth weight and the 5-min Apgar score that was developed and validated with multi-institutional registry data [17,18].

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Presented at the 39th Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association of Pediatric Surgeons, August 23-26, 2007, St John's Newfoundland, Canada.

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