Objective To evaluate the potential of three-dimensional ultrasound to predict outcome in congenital diaphragmatic hernia. Design Prospective observational study.Setting Tertiary care centre.Population Twelve cases of isolated congenital diaphragmatic hernia (11 left-sided, 1 right-sided) and 109 controls. Methods Fetal lung volume was assessed by three-dimensional ultrasound using the technique of rotation of the multiplanar imaging. In the control fetuses, a logistic transformation was performed to correlate fetal lung volume with gestational age, and the confidence interval was obtained with a bootstrap resampling. A mathematical equation was then obtained allowing calculation of the expected fetal lung volume as a function of gestational age. In fetuses with congenital diaphragmatic hernia, the observed/expected lung volume ratio was compared with postnatal outcome. Main outcome measures Neonatal mortality and pulmonary hypoplasia, which was defined as lung/body weight ratios less than 0.012. The observed/expected fetal lung volume ratio was also correlated with the postmortem lung/body weight ratio. Conclusion In isolated congenital diaphragmatic hernia, fetal lung volume measurement by three-dimensional ultrasound is a potential predictor for pulmonary hypoplasia and postnatal outcome.

There is a good agreement between 3-dimensional ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging for fetal lung volume estimation in cases with congenital diaphragmatic hernia.

A new nomogram of fetal lung (right, left, and total) volumes throughout gestational age using the rotational technique (VOCAL) is described, and reference values have been generated.

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Objective. To evaluate the feasibility of prenatal power Doppler imaging of pulmonary arteries in congenital diaphragmatic hernia and to study its potential to predict outcome. Methods. A prospective observational study was conducted. Forty-two cases of congenital diaphragmatic hernia (32 left and 10 right) without associated anomalies were analyzed. Qualitative evaluation of pulmonary vasculature was based on power Doppler imaging performed at 26 to 38 weeks. The pulmonary arteries were studied in the lung contralateral to the hernia. Pulmonary Doppler angiography was considered satisfactory when 3 levels of bifurcation defining 3 distinct segments of the pulmonary arteries were imaged and was otherwise considered poor. We also recorded the gestational age at diagnosis, side of the hernia, abdominal circumference below the third percentile, amniotic fluid volume, lung/thoracic area ratio, left/right ventricle ratio, and, in left-sided hernias, stomach position, and we carried out a multivariate analysis to determine the contribution of each factor to predict neonatal mortality. Results. More than 3 divisions of the fetal pulmonary arteries were imaged in 20 cases; 1 or 2 divisions or none were imaged in 22. Neonatal mortality was significantly greater when fewer than 3 divisions of the pulmonary arteries were imaged (18 [82%] of 22) than when 3 divisions could be identified on power Doppler imaging (5 [25%] of 20; P = .0005). However, the lung/thoracic area ratio was the only factor that remained significantly associated with mortality in the multivariate analysis. Conclusions. An altered pulmonary power Doppler image is associated with neonatal mortality, but estimation of the lung area remains the best predictor of neonatal outcome. Key words: congenital diaphragmatic hernia; lung/head ratio; lung/thorax ratio; power Doppler imaging; prenatal diagnosis; pulmonary hypoplasia; sonography. ongenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) diagnosed in utero has a neonatal mortality rate of 50% to 80%, 1-7 death being mainly due to pulmonary hypoplasia. Predicting the neonatal outcome prenatally remains a challenge. Moreover, prenatal staging of CDH is becoming increasingly important as new intrauterine therapeutic interventions emerge, including minimally invasive fetal surgery.8 So far, research on prenatal prediction of pulmonary hypoplasia has focused on using sonography or magnetic resonance imaging to assess the size of the lungs, 7,9-14 the degree of herniation of abdominal organs, 6,15,16 and the consequences of fetal hemodynamic changes on left ventricular size. 17,18 In CDH, however, pulmonary hypoplasia is associated with alterations of the pulmonary vasculature, accounting for potentially lethal postnatal pulmonary hypertension.19

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Conclusions: Fetal lung volume can be measured using MRI with moderate accuracy both from coronal and transverse sections. MRI and B-scan ultrasound are useful tools to monitor and quantify TO stimulated fetal lung growth in sheep fetuses.