Neurodevelopmental Outcomes in Neonates with Mild Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy Treated with Therapeutic Hypothermia.

OBJECTIVE: To review developmental outcomes of neonates with mild hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) treated with therapeutic hypothermia (TH).

STUDY DESIGN: Neonates ≥35 weeks' gestation with mild HIE/TH (TH group, n  = 30) were matched with healthy term-born infants (control group, n  = 30) and reviewed for the presence and severity of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-detected neurological injury. Neurodevelopmental outcomes were assessed using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development (BSID).

RESULTS: MRI injury was present in 13/30 (43.3%) neonates (11 mild, 1 moderate, and 1 severe injuries) in the TH group. The mean (standard deviation [SD]) corrected age at BSID III was 29.3 (3.9) months in the controls compared with 14.7 (3.9) months in the TH group ( p  < 0.01). The mean (SD) cognitive, language, and motor composite scores in neonates in the TH group ( n  = 16, 53.3%) and control groups ( n  = 30, 100%) were 99.4 (17.1) versus 93.0 (12.3), ( p  = 0.15), 89.5 (15.5) versus 100.2 (18.4), ( p  = 0.054), and 93.1 (15.4) versus 100.8 (16.3) ( p  = 0.13), respectively.

CONCLUSION: Developmental outcomes of neonates with mild HIE/TH were similar to healthy, term-born neonates.