Table 1.
Characteristics of 224 neonates with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. Pre-cooling era neonates did not receive therapeutic hypothermia and cooling era neonates received therapeutic hypothermia.
| Cooling era (n=151) |
Pre-cooling era (n=73) |
p-value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Male sex | 48% | 67% | 0.006 |
| Gestational age, weeks | 39.5 (1.5) | 39.6 (1.5) | 0.8 |
| Birth weight, grams | 3308 (547) | 3424 (618) | 0.2 |
| Cesarean section | 59% | 56% | 0.9 |
| 10-minute Apgar score | 5 (3 to 7) | 6 (4 to 7) | 0.06 |
| Base excess* | −18 (6) | −17 (7) | 0.5 |
| Encephalopathy severity | 0.5 | ||
| Moderate | 79% | 84% | |
| Severe | 21% | 16% | |
| Paralytic medication | 4% | 8% | 0.2 |
| Phenobarbital** | 38% | 64% | <0.001 |
| ICN Length of stay, days | 9 (7 to 12) | 11 (6 to 18) | 0.4 |
| Death before hospital discharge | 16% | 15% | 0.9 |
ICN, Intensive Care Nursery
Values are given in terms of %, mean (standard deviation), or median (25th to 75th percentile).
*
Based on worst base excess value from cord gas or first blood gas.
**
Antiepileptic drug treatment was given following a suspected seizure, not prophylactically.