What are the clinical features of CDH?

What are the clinical features of CDH?

The presenting symptom of CDH is respiratory distress, with tachypnea and cyanosis, in the neonatal period. On visual inspection, the abdomen may appear scaphoid and the thorax barrel-shaped. On physical examination there is an absence of breath sounds on the affected side (most commonly the left side) and the cardiac impulse will be shifted to the opposite side of the defect (most commonly the right side). Bowel sounds on the affected side is an uncommon finding.

The time of onset of the respiratory symptoms correlates well with the degree of lung hypoplasia and therefore with prognosis. The earlier the symptoms present, the greater the degree of lung hypoplasia is present. Those neonates pre-senting in the first hour of life have the highest mortality.