Objective: To analyze the association between cardiovascular care and adverse outcome in infants undergoing therapeutic hypothermia for neonatal encephalopathy (NE).
Study design: This was a retrospective cohort study of 176 infants with NE and hypotension, admitted to the SickKids Hospital (Center A, n = 86) or Semmelweis University (Center B, n = 90).
Result: The lowest systolic/diastolic blood pressures were comparable amongst centers; however, proportion of cardiovascular support was lower in Center A (51% vs 97% in Center B). Overall rate of death or abnormal MRI (adverse outcome) were comparable between centers, although pattern differed with more basal ganglia injury in Center B. A 24-hour longer duration of cardiovascular support increased the odds for adverse outcome by 14%.
Conclusion: We demonstrated that management of hemodynamic instability in infants with NE was markedly different in two high-volume NICUs and showed that longer duration of cardiovascular medication is an independent risk factor for adverse outcome.
© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature America, Inc.