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Objective: To determine the usefulness of measures, available shortly after birth, as predictors of hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) following perinatal asphyxia., Patients: All inborn patients at Southmead Hospital between January 2012 and March 2014 at ≥36 weeks gestation with a pH <7 or BE >16 on cord or baby's blood within one hour of birth or 10-minute Apgar score ≤5 or requiring intermittent positive pressure ventilation at 10 minutes were eligible for inclusion., Methods: ROC curves were derived for the perinatal clinical and biochemical measures to establish their predictive values for the development of HIE and the area under the curve (AUC) used as the measure of prediction., Results: We identified 79 eligible babies. Infants qualifying for therapeutic hypothermia (TH) based on aEEG abnormalities were considered to have HIE (n = 13; 16.5%), whereas babies with normal aEEG were classified as "non-HIE" (n = 66; 83.5%). The highest AUC measure was associated with the five-minute Apgar score (0.89 (0.79-0.99)). Troponin T (0.81 (0.64-0.98)) and ALT (0.78 (0.60-96)) also showed high values., Conclusions: In this work, the Apgar score, troponin T and ALT were found to be strong and useful predictors of HIE.

Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the association between maternal socioeconomic position and a persistent low Apgar score (a score of < 7 at 1 and 5 min following birth)., Methods: The research is based on a population cohort study of 183,637 males born in Sweden between 1973 and 1976. Data from the Medical Birth Register were linked to Population and Housing Censuses., Results: There was evidence that mothers working in non-manual (Odds ratio (OR) 0.83 (0.72-0.97)) and self-employed (OR 0.64 (0.44-0.93)) occupations were less likely to have an infant with a low Apgar score, compared to manual workers. There was evidence that the risk of a low Apgar score decreased as the mother's level of education increased, if the infant was born by instrumental (OR 0.86 (0.74-0.99)) or caesarean section (OR 0.80 (0.68-0.93)) delivery, but not by unassisted vaginal delivery (OR 1.01 (0.92-1.10))., Conclusion: There was a lower risk of poor birth condition in male infants born to more educated and non-manual/self-employed mothers. These differences may contribute to our understanding of socioeconomic differences in infant health and development although the results may not be applicable due to changes over the last 30 years.

BACKGROUND: Mothers are increasingly given greater control over many of the choices around birth, although there is little robust evidence to inform these choices. After an infant is born with HIE the question of whether it was predictable, or preventable, is often raised. Intrapartum 'sentinel' events and antenatal predictors of HIE have been well described, however there is little evidence how antenatal and intrapartum factors interact. This is particularly important when elective delivery by lower segment caesarean section (LSCS) has been shown to be beneficial in high risk groups. AIM: To develop a clinical risk score to identify women with a higher risk of having an infant with HIE. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This study is based on the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). This dataset was split into two halves: with each infant being randomly allocated to either cohort one or two. The first cohort was used for the derivation of the model, while it was tested exclusively on the second. Logistic regression modelling was then performed to develop a predictive model. The final model was used to predict the outcome of infants in the second cohort and infants divided into four risk quartiles. To give some indication of possible avoidable disease, the proportion of infants with HIE, potentially avoided by earlier delivery, was estimated by assuming that medicalized delivery by elective LSCS at 37 weeks would remove intrapartum risk of HIE for those infants undelivered at this point. RESULTS: In the final model seven covariates remained (parity, preeclampsia, polyhydramnios, prelabor rupture of membranes, gender, concerns over fetal growth and prematurity). When applied to the second cohort, a ROC curve for the prediction of developing HIE in the newborn period showed good evidence for association (AUC 0.68 (0.60 to 0.77)) and the risk score derived was strongly associated with the risk of HIE, resuscitation and stillbirth, and neonatal death (all p < 0.05). Elective delivery of high risk infants at 37 weeks gestation could prevent 14% of all HIE, with a NNT of 41. CONCLUSION: It is possible to combine routine antenatal findings to identify infants at higher risk of neonatal HIE, thereby recognizing those infants who may benefit most from delivery by elective caesarean section. This work suggests a clinical risk score permits antenatal identification of high-risk infants whose outcome may be amenable to changes in clinical practice to potentially reduce HIE rates, and its devastating consequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The aim of this work was to test whether three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) implicated in glutamate homoeostasis or signalling and cellular survival are associated with birth condition.Methods: This study is drawn from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. A total of 7611 term infants were genotyped and patient outcome data retrieved from routine medical records. Exposure measures were the presence of one or more minor alleles in one of 3 SNPs (rs2284411, rs2498804, rs1835740). The primary outcome was the need for resuscitation at birth.Results: For SNP rs1835740, infants homozygous for the minor allele compared to wild type were more likely to need resuscitation (9.2% vs. 7.0%, p = 0.041), while the odds ratio for resuscitation was associated with each increasing minor allele [OR 1.17 (1.01-1.35)]. Population attributable risk fraction was 6.5%. There was no evidence that the other two SNPs investigated were associated with birth condition.Conclusion: We have tested three candidate SNPs to measure any association with birth condition. The study revealed that the rs1835740 was associated with the need for resuscitation and Apgar scores, with a substantial population impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]