Epidemiology and Regional Variation in Additional Surgical Interventions for Children with Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia: A Multi-institutional Analysis.

Objective: To determine practice variation in surgical management of co-morbidities in pediatric patients with Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia (CDH).

Background: A higher percentage of CDH patients are surviving to discharge, accompanied by an increase in morbidity requiring surgical interventions such as tracheostomy and gastrostomy tube insertion. The frequency, trends, and regional variations in operative management of these co-morbidities in this population are unclear.

Methods: Neonates who underwent CDH repair between 2012-2022 in the United States Pediatric Health Information System database were identified. Multivariable regression identified predictive factors for additional surgical morbidity after CDH repair, defined by an additional surgical intervention during index hospitalization or within one year after discharge. To narrow the spectrum of severity of disease, only patients with an intensive care unit admission on index hospitalization were included. Secondary analysis compared frequency of operations and hospital resource utilization by region.

Results: 4003 patients underwent CDH repair and were discharged from their index hospitalization. 1939 (48%) underwent at least one additional surgical procedure after the index CDH repair. Most performed surgeries were gastrostomy tube (28%), fundoplication (13%), and tracheostomy (5%). Covariates associated with additional surgical morbidity included: prematurity (OR 1.38; 95% CI: 1.20-1.59), cardiac co-morbidity (OR 1.31; 95% CI: 1.14-1.49), and chromosomal anomalies (OR 1.76, 95% CI: 1.30-2.40). Northeast (OR: 2.43; CI 1.42-3.52), Midwest (OR 2.11; 95% CI: 1.45-3.07), and South (OR 1.45, 95% CI 1.02-2.12) regions were associated with additional surgical morbidity. Patients who required additional surgical procedures had longer initial inpatient length of stays (71 versus 31 d) and higher associated costs ($357,000 versus $161,000).

Conclusions: Surgical morbidity exists in CDH patients after initial CDH repair. Counseling families on these outcomes is important in establishing expectations for management. Establishing guidelines for optimal surgical management will require continued reporting from multi-institutional studies.