Research: Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on congenital diaphragmatic hernia patients: a single-center retrospective study

Pediatr Surg Int

. 2022 Jun 7;1-11.

 doi: 10.1007/s00383-022-05136-9. Online ahead of print. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35670846/

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on congenital diaphragmatic hernia patients: a single-center retrospective study

Yun-Long Zhao 1Ying Wang 2Chao Liu 2Yu-Lin Jiang 3Yan-Dong Wei 2Hua Meng 4Shan Jian 5Xi-Ting Zhu 6Li-Jian Pei 7Xiao-Chen Bai 8Feng Feng 9Yan Lv 3Xi-Ya Zhou 3Qing-Wei Qi 3Jing-Na Li 2Wei Ji 10Li-Shuang Ma 11

Affiliations expand

Free PMC article

Abstract

Purpose: To investigate the impact of COVID-19 on the treatment of children with congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH).

Methods: We retrospectively collected and compared the data of patients with CDH admitted between January 1, 2020 and December 31, 2021(study group) with the CDH patients admitted before the pandemic between January 1, 2018 and December 31, 2019 (control group).

Results: During the pandemic, 41 patients with CDH diagnosed prenatally were transferred to our hospital, and 40 underwent surgical repair. The number of patients treated in our hospital increased by 24.2% compared with the 33 patients before the pandemic. During the pandemic, the overall survival rate, postoperative survival rate and recurrence rate were 85.4%, 87.5% and 7.3%, respectively, and there were no significant differences compared with the control group (75.8%, 83.3% and 9.1%, respectively). The average length of hospital stay in patients admitted during the pandemic was longer than that in the control group (31 days vs. 16 days, P < 0.001), and the incidence of nosocomial infection was higher than that in the control group (19.5% vs. 3%, P = 0.037).

Conclusions: CDH patients confirmed to be SARS-CoV-2 infection-free can receive routine treatment. Our data indicate that the implementation of protective measures during the COVID-19 pandemic, along with appropriate screening and case evaluation, do not have a negative impact on the prognosis of children.

Keywords: Clinical management; Congenital diaphragmatic hernia; Neonates; Public health emergency; Surgery.

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