Evaluating a Targeted Bedside Measure of Cerebral Perfusion in a Nonhuman Primate Model of Neonatal Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy.

OBJECTIVES: To compare ultrasound-derived resistive indices (RIs) obtained at the level of the thalamus via fast Doppler ultrasound with traditional anterior cerebral artery measures in a model of neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy and to correlate each with clinical outcomes.

METHODS: Nine nonhuman primate neonates underwent no umbilical cord occlusion (n = 3), umbilical cord occlusion without hypothermia (n = 3), or umbilical cord occlusion with hypothermia (n = 3). The RI was measured in the anterior cerebral artery and thalamus on days 0, 1, and 4 of life. Magnetic resonance imaging with spectroscopy was performed on day 4.

RESULTS: Mean thalamus and anterior cerebral artery RI values in the first 36 hours of life were statistically different in neonates who died (+0.13; P = .019) or developed cerebral palsy (-0.08; P = .003). Thalamic RI values showed stronger associations with serum and spectroscopic lactate values than those in the anterior cerebral artery. The umbilical cord occlusion-with-hypothermia group showed a significant increase in the RI in the thalamus but not the anterior cerebral artery.

CONCLUSIONS: Resistive index measurements in the thalamus may eventually supplement other bedside measures for predicting outcomes in the HIE population, but further studies need to differentiate the effect of hypothermia from illness severity on thalamic perfusion.