Radiographic chest contour and pulmonary air leaks in oligohydramnios-related pulmonary hypoplasia (Potter's syndrome).

Review of the clinical records, chest roentgenograms, and autopsy material of 17 infants dying from oligohydramnios related pulmonary hypoplasia confirmed that two roentgen signs appeared with high frequency. These were pneumomediastinum/pneumothorax (82%) and a bell-shaped chest contour (59%). The bell-shaped chest is valuable in predicting the most severe degrees of lung growth impairment in these infants, and was present in all cases in which oligohydramnios was caused by bilateral renal agenesis. Either pneumomediastinum/pneumothorax or the bell-shaped chest configuration, when present alone, are of low diagnostic value as they are relatively nonspecific signs; their combination, however, has predictive value for Potter's syndrome and may be important in evaluation infants with less typical clinical manifestations of Potter's syndrome.