ABSTRACT
It is of vital importance to recognize variables that predict pre-and perinatal mortality, since they will influence the information given to the family, as well as deciding eligibility to prenatal intervention. Firstly, other lethal malformations, as well as chromosomal aberrations, should be excluded. In isolated left-sided CDH, herniation of the liver into the chest has been shown to be a predictor of high mortality, whereas survival is highly likely if the liver is not herniated into the thorax.22,63 Furthermore, the LHR has been shown to adequately predict outcome in left-sided, ‘liver-up’ CDH. In a prospective series, an LHR <1.0 was associated with 100% mortality, whereas all patients with an LHR >1.4 survived.23 Currently, fetal MRI as a means of measuring lung volume and thereby predicting pulmonary hypoplasia, is investigated.24
