Congenital diaphragmatic hernia repair in patients on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation: How early can we repair?

Background: The benefits to early repair (<72 h postcannulation) of infants with congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) are increasingly recognized. Yet it is not known if even earlier repair (<24 h) results in comparable or improved patient outcomes. The goal of this study was to compare "super-early" (<24 h) to early repair (24-72 h) of CDH patients on ECMO. Methods: A retrospective review of infants with CDH placed on ECMO (2004-2017; n = 72) was performed. Data collected on the patients repaired while on ECMO within 72 h of cannulation (n 33) included pre- and postnatal disease severity stratification variables and postnatal outcomes. Comparison groups were those patients repaired within 24 h of cannulation (n = 14) and those repaired between 24 and 72 h postcannulation (n = 19). Results: Patients undergoing "super-early" (<24 h) repair had an average survival of 71.4% compared to the average survival of 59.7% in the early repair group. Pre- and postnatal variables predicting disease severity were not significantly different between the groups. Mean hospital stays, ventilator days, and cannulation days were statistically similar between the groups. Conclusions: Repair of patients with CDH patients on ECMO at less than 24 h postcannulation achieves outcomes that are comparable to those of repair between 24 and 72 h. While the present data suggest that there is nut a "too early" time point for CDH repair on ECMO, larger multicenter studies are needed to validate our findings and determine the overall benefits. Type of study: Retrospective comparative study. (C) 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.