ABSTRACT
Congenital diaphragmatic hernia( CDH) is a severe birth defect characterized by hernia-tion of abdominal viscera into thoracic cavity caused by a defect of the diaphragm. It presents with a wide range of severity,which mostly depends on degrees of pulmonary hypertension and pulmonary hypoplasia. The neonatal and surgical management of infants with CDH has evolved over years,and the practice of dela-ying surgery until patients achieve clinical stability is widely accepted. However,there is still little consensus on optimal timing of repair for the most severe CDH patients or who requires extracorporeal membrane oxy-genation. Numerous prenatal and postnatal factors may affect the prognosis in neonates with CDH, such as lung to head ratio,liver position,blood gases,echocardiographic indicators,clinical scoring system shortly af-ter birth. Stratifying the CDH infant population into high-and low-risk for mortality may help to develop tar-geted management strategies based on severity,and thus improve outcomes.