FIGURE 3. Comparison between cerebral blood flow (CBF) (mL/100g/min) measured by ASL-MRI and mixed venous saturation (SctO2) (%) measured by NIRS in asphyxiated newborns treated with hypothermia during the first days of life.
Both SctO2 and CBF increased from day 1 to 2 in all term newborns with HIE, despite hypothermia treatment. Newborns with severe encephalopathy had lower CBF than newborns with moderate encephalopathy. A strong correlation (r = 0.88, p < 0.01) between SctO2 and CBF was found in asphyxiated newborns with initially severe encephalopathy. Newborns who developed HI brain injury had higher SctO2 than newborns who did not develop brain injury.