Comparison of prenatal lung volume measurements associated with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation

What if a prenatal MRI could predict whether a newborn might need life support? I'm Lizzie Lee from Cincinnati Children's and this is an article you should know about. In babies with congenital diaphragmatic hernia or CDH, doctors use prenatal imaging to estimate lung development and how sick the baby might be after birth. This study compared several lung measurements to find the best predictor of the need for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, or ECMO. What did they find? The measurement of observed to expected total fetal lung volume was the best overall predictor of ECMO use and mortality. Another measurement stood out, percent predicted lung volume. When that number drops below 17% in the third trimester, the infant's mortality and need for ECMO increased significantly. Bottom line is that these two third trimester MRI measurements may be really helpful for guiding care for babies with CDH. Let us know what you think and stay tuned for more articles that you should know about.