Does prenatal diagnosis modify neonatal treatment and early outcome of children with esophageal atresia

Objective Our study aimed at (1) evaluating neonatal treatment and outcome of neonates with either a prenatal or a postnatal diagnosis of esophageal atresia (EA) and (2) analyzing the impact of prenatal diagnosis on outcome based on the type of EA. Study Design We conducted a population-based study using data from the French National Register for infants with EA born from 2008-2010. We compared prenatal, maternal, and neonatal characteristics among children with prenatal vs postnatal diagnosis and EA types I and III. We defined a composite variable of morbidity (anastomotic esophageal leaks, recurrent fistula, stenosis) and death at 1 year. Results Four hundred sixty-nine live births with EA were recorded with a prenatal diagnosis rate of 24.3%; 82.2% of EA type I were diagnosed prenatally compared with 17.9% of EA type III ( P P P P  = .003) and in EA type I than in type III (58.1% vs 28.3%; P Conclusion Despite the excellent survival rate of EA, cases with antenatal detection have a higher morbidity rate related to the EA type (type I and/or long gap). Even though it does not modify neonatal treatment and the 1-year outcome, prenatal diagnosis allows antenatal parental counselling and avoids postnatal transfers.