Introduction:

Congenital diaphragmatic hernia is defined as the displacement of the abdominal organs into the chest cavity through a diaphragmatic defect. Within this type of hernias, the Bochdalek hernia is the most common.

Objectives:

To describe the autopsy findings of neonates with Bochdalek hernia, treated in a tertiary pediatric hospital, over 22 years.

Material and methods:

Retrospective study in which the autopsy protocols of neonates diagnosed with Bochdalek hernia, carried out between 1997 and 2019, were evaluated. These protocols were evaluated again by two pediatric pathologists, independently.

Results:

18 autopsies (2.26%) were included. Twelve (66.7%) were total, and six partial autopsies. Ten infants were male (55.5%), and at the time of death, the median postnatal age was 2.5 days. In the majority, the diaphragmatic defect was on the left side (66.7%), and all presented pulmonary hypoplasia and pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Heart disease was the most frequent congenital malformation (44.4%), followed by digestive and genitourinary malformations.

Conclusions:

In patients with hernia Bochdalek, secondary disorders (pulmonary hypoplasia and HAP) and congenital malformations are directly related morbidity and mortality.