Neonatal encephalopathies
- 5 December 1998
- Vol. 317 (7172), 1537-1538
- https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.317.7172.1537
Abstract
Papers pp 1549,1544 Neonatal encephalopathy is a significant problem. The United States collaborative perinatal project studied 39 000 infants born with birth weights greater than 2500 g and found that 70% of the infants who showed early neonatal depression and encephalopathy died or were disabled.1 For many years it was accepted that fetal asphyxia during labour was the major cause of both neonatal encephalopathy and cerebral palsy. However, the evidence for this is surprisingly thin. Diagnosis of cerebral hypoxia-ischaemia during labour is difficult and is usually inferred from non-specific signs, such as low Apgar scores or seizures observed after delivery. More precise assessment using specialist technologies like magnetic resonance is possible but not widely available,2 and a working diagnosis of hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy may sometimes be applied with less than irrefutable proof of its presence. Nevertheless, several large studies have been unable to show significant perinatal asphyxia in most children who develop cerebral palsy1; indeed, a growing number of …This publication has 9 references indexed in Scilit:
- Antepartum risk factors for newborn encephalopathy: the Western Australian case-control studyBMJ, 1998
- Intrapartum risk factors for newborn encephalopathy: the Western Australian case-control studyBMJ, 1998
- Recent advances in developing neuroprotective strategies for perinatal asphyxiaCurrent Opinion in Pediatrics, 1998
- Neonatal cytokines and coagulation factors in children with cerebral palsyAnnals of Neurology, 1998
- Abnormal Magnetic Resonance Signal in the Internal Capsule Predicts Poor Neurodevelopmental Outcome in Infants With Hypoxic-Ischemic EncephalopathyPEDIATRICS, 1998
- Maternal Infection and Cerebral Palsy in Infants of Normal Birth WeightJAMA, 1997
- Chapter 12 Interleukins and Cerebral IschaemiaInternational review of neurobiology, 1996
- Cluster of perinatal events identifying infants at high risk for death or disabilityThe Journal of Pediatrics, 1988
- MATERNAL THYROID FUNCTION, IODINE DEFICIENCY AND FETAL DEVELOPMENTClinical Endocrinology, 1976