Evidence · Systematic review or meta-analysis
Therapeutic hypothermia in neonatal hypoxic encephalopathy: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
- Hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy and cooling
- Medical
- Neurodevelopmental follow-up
- Neurology
- Nursing
- Seizures
Summary
This systematic review and meta-analysis pooled 29 randomised controlled trials (2926 participants) comparing therapeutic hypothermia with normothermia in neonates of at least 35 weeks' gestation with perinatal asphyxia and encephalopathy. It examined mortality and neurological disability at neonatal, infancy, childhood and long-term time points, as well as seizures, EEG and MRI findings. Cooling reduced neurological disability and cerebral palsy, but its effect on mortality was uncertain. Outcomes varied by country income setting, and trials at higher risk of bias overestimated benefit, which is relevant to cooling in lower-resource settings.
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- Licence:
- Open (Creative Commons)
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