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CC BY 4.0 · Z Geburtshilfe Neonatol
DOI: 10.1055/a-2638-5623
Original Article

Risk of moderate or severe hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy does not correlate with prenatally known risk factors

Authors

  • Mario Rüdiger 

    1   Saxonian Center for Feto/Neonatal Health, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, German Center for Child and Adolescent Health (DZKJ), SaxoChild partner site Dresden/Leipzig, Germany (Ringgold ID: RIN39063)

  • Sven Kehl

    2   Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, LMU University Hospital, LMU Munich, Germany (Ringgold ID: RIN396211)

  • Cornelia Wiechers

    3   Department of Neonatology and Interdisciplinary Centre for Cleft Palate and Craniofacial Malformations, University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany (Ringgold ID: RIN27203)

  • Angela Kribs

    4   Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany (Ringgold ID: RIN27182)

  • Ulrich Pecks

    5   Department of Obstetrics, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany (Ringgold ID: RIN9190)
    • for the DGPM Research Collaborative

Gefördert durch: Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung; German Center for Child and Adolescent Health (DZKJ) 01GL2405B
Gefördert durch: Gemeinsame Bundesausschuss, Innovationsfonds 01NVF21103
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Abstract

Infants with perinatal asphyxia require immediate support in order to prevent further damage. If asphyxia progresses towards hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy, therapeutic hypothermia (TH) in a specialised NICU is indicated. In order to provide evidence-based recommendations for an appropriate perinatal care structure, data for Germany are needed. German NICUs which offer TH (cooling centres) provided data in order to analyse how many neonates were treated with TH and how many of them were transferred for TH. Furthermore, for transferred infants the level of care of birth hospital was analysed and the rate of neonates with TH per 1,000 deliveries was calculated for each hospital. Data for 1,431 neonates with TH was obtained from 20 cooling centres. The average annual rate of neonates receiving TH in each cooling centre varied between 3 and 12 neonates. In only 13% of the analysed hospital years was the annual rate of neonates receiving TH equal to or more than 12. For 19 out of the 20 cooling centres, detailed information on the place of birth was available. Out of these 1,390 neonates, 46% (n=637) were transferred for TH. 4.7% of the transferred neonates were born out-of-hospital, whereas 95.3% (n=607) were born in 111 different hospitals, with a total of 1,298,058 deliveries during the respective data reporting period. Altogether, 55.3%, 18.5%, and 26.2% were born in hospitals caring for high-, medium-, or low-risk pregnancies, respectively. For each hospital, the respective rate of neonates with TH per 1,000 deliveries was calculated and showed variations between different hospitals. However, the median rate was similar among hospitals caring for high-, medium-, or low-risk pregnancies. Our findings could be used for subsequent planning of perinatal care. Since the annual number of neonates treated with TH is rather low in the majority of participating cooling centres, more centralisation is needed. Furthermore, the relative rate of newborns requiring TH is similar in hospitals providing care for high-, medium-, or low-risk pregnancies. In order to provide immediate resuscitation to asphyxiated infants, paediatric expertise should be available in each hospital where infants are born.

Keywords

Perinatal Aspyhxia - Therapeutic Hypothermia - Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy - prenatal risk


Publikationsverlauf

Eingereicht: 22. Februar 2025

Angenommen nach Revision: 02. Juni 2025

Artikel online veröffentlicht:
16. September 2025

© 2025. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, permitting unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction so long as the original work is properly cited. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

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