Patient selection and prognostication with hypothermia treatment

Summary 

For infants with perinatal hypoxia–ischaemia, the ability to give an accurate prognosis at different ages enables the clinician to make decisions on the continuation of management, and also assists in discussions regarding further treatment and prognosis with parents and families. This review suggests which outcome markers are still valid, which need new ‘cut-off values’ and which can no longer be used in cooled infants. The main focus is on convenient bedside technologies such as the amplitude-integrated electroencephalogram that can be easily applied in routine clinical practice.

Keywords: Amplitude-integrated EEG, Hypothermia, Normothermia, Outcome prediction, Patient selection, Perinatal asphyxia