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Pre- and neonatal imaging of gastrointestinal complications in congenital diaphragmatic hernia

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Abstract

The initial outcome in infants with congenital diaphragmatic hernia is mainly related to the associated lung hypoplasia. However, these patients frequently present with additional gastrointestinal pathology that also influences their quality of life and final prognosis. Congenital gastrointestinal anomalies are often observed and the displacement of the liver, the stomach and/or the intestines into the thorax may cause distortion of the vascular axis of these organs, increasing the risk of congestion and/or ischemia. Some of these gastrointestinal complications are already visible at imaging studies performed in utero and/or in newborns.This pictorial essay describes the imaging findings of the most frequently detected gastrointestinal complications in fetuses and infants with congenital diaphragmatic hernia, focusing on prenatal exams.

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Abbreviations

US:

Ultrasound

MRI:

Magnetic resonance Imaging

CDH:

Congenital diaphragmatic hernia

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Unit of Radiopediatrics, Department of Radiology, University Hospital of Lausanne (CHUV), Rue du Bugnon 46, 1011, Lausanne, Switzerland

    Katharina Minkner & Leonor Alamo

  2. Department of Radiology, Hospital of Neuchatel, Neuchatel, Switzerland

    Katharina Minkner

Authors
  1. Katharina Minkner
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  2. Leonor Alamo
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Correspondence to Leonor Alamo.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. This article does not contain any studies with animals performed by any of the authors. All the image files were anonymized.

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Statement of informed consent was not applicable since the manuscript does not contain any patient data.

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Minkner, K., Alamo, L. Pre- and neonatal imaging of gastrointestinal complications in congenital diaphragmatic hernia. Abdom Radiol 43, 574–582 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00261-017-1246-9

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