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Objective To determine if illness severity during the first days of life predicts adverse outcome in asphyxiated newborns treated with hypothermia. Study Design We conducted a retrospective cohort study of asphyxiated newborns treated with hypothermia. Illness severity was calculated daily during the first 4 days of life using the Score for Neonatal Acute Physiology II (SNAP-II score). Adverse outcome (death and/or brain injury) was recorded. Differences in SNAP-II scores between the newborns with and without adverse outcome were assessed. Result 214 newborns were treated with hypothermia. The average SNAP-II score over the first 4 days of life was significantly worse in newborns developing adverse outcome. The average SNAP-II score was an excellent predictor of death (area under the curve [AUC]: 0.93; p Conclusion In asphyxiated newborns treated with hypothermia, not only the initial asphyxial event but also the illness severity during the first days of life was a significant predictor of death or brain injury.

Objective This study aimed to assess the incidence of hypotension in asphyxiated newborns treated with hypothermia, the variability in treatments for hypotension, and the impact of hypotension on the pattern of brain injury. Study Design We conducted a retrospective cohort study of asphyxiated newborns treated with hypothermia. Mean blood pressures, lactate levels, and inotropic support medications were recorded during the hospitalization. Presence and severity of brain injury were scored using the brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) obtained after the hypothermia treatment was completed. Results One hundred and ninety term asphyxiated newborns were treated with hypothermia. Eighty-one percent developed hypotension. Fifty-five percent of the newborns in the hypotensive group developed brain injury compared with 35% of the newborns in the normotensive group (p = 0.04). Twenty-nine percent of the newborns in the hypotensive group developed severe brain injury, compared with only 15% in the normotensive group. Nineteen percent of the newborns presenting with volume- and/or catecholamine-resistant hypotension had near-total injury, compared with 6% in the normotensive group and 8% in the group responding to volume and/or catecholamines. Conclusion Hypotension was common in asphyxiated newborns treated with hypothermia and was associated with an increased risk of (severe) brain injury in these newborns.