Table 1.
Clinical characteristics of the study cohort, stratified based on (1) presence or absence of seizures during the follow-up period, and (2) anti-seizure medication (ASM) on discharge. Continuous variables were analyzed with the Kruskall-Wallis test, while categorical variables were analyzed with Fisher’s exact test.
| Variable | Full cohort (n=81) | Follow-up cohort (n=59) | Neonates with acute symptomatic seizures (n=35) | Neonates with acute symptomatic seizures (n=35) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| ||||||||
| Seizures in follow-up (n=4) | No seizures in follow-up (n=31) | p-value | ASM on discharge (n=17) | No ASM on discharge (n=18) | p-value | |||
| Sex, n (%) | ||||||||
| Male | 44 (54%) | 33 (56%) | 4 (100%) | 20 (65%) | 0.15 | 11 (65%) | 13 (72%) | 0.63 |
| Female | 37 (46%) | 26 (44%) | 0 (0%) | 11 (35%) | 6 (35%) | 5 (28%) | ||
| Gestational age (weeks), mean (SD) | 38.8 (1.7) | 38.9 (1.7) | 38.3 (0.9) | 38.6 (1.7) | 0.51 | 38.8 (1.3) | 38.4 (1.9) | 0.6 |
| Birth weight (grams), mean (SD) | 3367 (694) | 3389 (671) | 3046 (758) | 3314 (580) | 0.36 | 3351 (552) | 3220 (644) | 0.62 |
| pH, cord blood, mean (SD) | 6.93 (0.20) | 6.96 (0.18) | 6.69 (0.11) | 7.00 (0.2) | 0.02 | 6.89 (0.21) | 7.00 (0.23) | 0.4 |
| pH, 1hr gas, mean (SD) | 6.97 (0.14) | 6.93 (0.15) | 6.88 (0.14) | 7.02 (0.14) | 0.18 | 6.95 (0.13) | 7.02 (0.16) | 0.27 |
| APGAR 1min, median (IQR) | 1 (1,2) | 1 (1,2) | 1 (0,2) | 1 (0,2) | 0.49 | 1 (0,2) | 1 (0,2) | 0.51 |
| APGAR 5min, median (IQR) | 3 (2,5) | 3 (2,5) | 2 (1,3) | 2 (2,5) | 0.24 | 3 (1,7) | 2 (2,3) | 0.21 |
| APGAR 10min, median (IQR) | 4 (3,6) | 4 (3,6) | 4 (3,6) | 4 (3,6) | 0.93 | 4 (3,6) | 4 (3,5) | 0.68 |
| Admission length (days), median (IQR) | 18 (11, 27) | 19 (12,27) | 34 (27,50) | 18 (13,26) | 0.02 | 27 (16,32) | 18 (11,23) | 0.02 |
| HIE Severity, n (%) | ||||||||
| Mild | 15 (19%) | 13 (22%) | 0 (0%) | 3 (10%) | 0.71 | 1 (6%) | 2 (11%) | 0.68 |
| Moderate | 45 (56%) | 36 (61%) | 2 (50%) | 20 (65%) | 10 (59%) | 12 (67%) | ||
| Severe | 21 (26%) | 10 (17%) | 2 (50%) | 8 (26%) | 6 (35%) | 4 (22%) | ||
| EEG seizures, n (%) | ||||||||
| Yes | 26 (32%) | 21 (36%) | 3 (75%) | 18 (58%) | 0.52 | 15 (88%) | 6 (33%) | <0.01 |
| No | 55 (68%) | 38 (64%) | 1 (24%) | 13 (42%) | 2 (12%) | 12 (67%) | ||
| Seizure exposure, n (%) | ||||||||
| 1–2 Seizures (rare) | 8 (10%) | 7 (12%) | 1 (33%) | 6 (33%) | 0.62 | 5 (33%) | 2 (33%) | 0.91 |
| 3–10 Seizures (occasional) | 6 (7%) | 6 (10%) | 0 (0%) | 6 (33%) | 5 (33%) | 1 (17%) | ||
| > 10 Seizures (frequent) | 8 (10%) | 6 (10%) | 2 (67%) | 4 (23%) | 4 (27%) | 2 (33%) | ||
| Status Epilepticus | 4 (5%) | 2 (3%) | 0 (0%) | 2 (11%) | 1 (7%) | 1 (17%) | ||
| Initial EEG background, n (%) | ||||||||
| Normal | 14 (17%) | 8 (14%) | 0 (0%) | 3 (10%) | 0.31 | 1 (6%) | 2 (11%) | 0.32 |
| Mildly abnormal | 28 (35%) | 23 (39%) | 0 (0%) | 11 (35%) | 3 (18%) | 8 (44%) | ||
| Moderately abnormal | 15 (19%) | 14 (24%) | 1 (25%) | 9 (29%) | 6 (35%) | 4 (22%) | ||
| Severely abnormal | 24 (30%) | 14 (24%) | 3 (75%) | 8 (26%) | 7 (41%) | 4 (22%) | ||
| MRI injury distribution, n (%) | ||||||||
| Normal | 35/72 (49%) | 28/57 (49%) | 1 (25%) | 13 (43%) | 0.08 | 3 (19%) | 11 (61%) | 0.03 |
| Deep Grey Only | 7/72 (10%) | 5/57 (9%) | 2 (50%) | 2 (7%) | 2 (13%) | 2 (11%) | ||
| Cortical Only | 20/72 (28%) | 19/57 (33%) | 0 (0%) | 11 (37%) | 6 (38%) | 5 (45%) | ||
| Cortical + Deep Grey | 7/72 (10%) | 4/57 (7%) | 1 (25%) | 3 (10%) | 4 (25%) | 0 (0%) | ||
| Extensive Injury | 3/72 (4%) | 1/57 (2%) | 0 (0%) | 1 (3%) | 1 (6%) | 0 (0%) | ||
| Discharged on ASM, n (%) | ||||||||
| Yes | 18/72 (22%) | 17 (29%) | 4 (100%) | 13 (42%) | 0.05 | NA | NA | NA |
| No | 63/72 (78%) | 42 (71%) | 0 (0%) | 18 (58%) | ||||
| Length of ASM therapy after discharge (days), mean (SD) | 144 (95) | 144 (95) | 121 (221) | 120 (75) | 0.08 | NA | 144 (95) | NA |