Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 4, 2026
10:30
A Piglet Model of Neonatal Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy
Published on: May 16, 2015
Hypothermia for perinatal asphyxial encephalopathy.
Cornelia F Hagmann1, B Brotschi, V Bernet
1Klinik für Neonatologie, Frauenklinikstrasse 10, 8091 Zürich, CH. cornelia.hagmann@usz.ch
Swiss Medical Weekly
|February 18, 2011
Summary
Therapeutic hypothermia is effective for perinatal asphyxial encephalopathy, but access and protocols vary in Switzerland. A national registry is needed to standardize care and improve outcomes for affected newborns.
Area of Science:
- Neonatalogy
- Pediatric Intensive Care
- Neurology
Background:
- Perinatal asphyxial encephalopathy affects 1 in 1000 live births, leading to significant mortality and morbidity.
- Therapeutic hypothermia improves survival and neurodevelopmental outcomes in affected infants.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess Swiss neonatologists' and pediatric intensive care specialists' opinions and practices regarding therapeutic hypothermia for perinatal asphyxial encephalopathy.
- To evaluate current clinical management of infants with this condition.
- To determine the need for a national registry for perinatal asphyxia and therapeutic hypothermia.
Main Methods:
- Two web-based questionnaires were distributed to 18 senior physicians in the Swiss Neonatal Network.
Main Results:
- All responders deemed therapeutic hypothermia effective, yet only 11 of 18 units offered it.
- Cooling was often passive (82%) during transfer, targeting 33-34°C rectal temperature.
- Most centers used continuous amplitude-integrated EEG (aEEG), EEG, cranial ultrasound (cUS), MRI, and CT for monitoring and imaging, with 67% routinely performing MRI.
Conclusions:
- Therapeutic hypothermia is widely accessible and considered effective by Swiss neonatologists for perinatal asphyxia.
- National protocols are essential for consistent, safe management, including cooling, monitoring, imaging, and follow-up.
- A national registry is crucial for collecting data on diagnosis, treatment, adverse events, and outcomes.
Related Concept Videos
01:29Decreased Body Temperature
A decreased body temperature can occur in patients with hypothermia and frostbite. Heat loss with extended cold exposure overpowers the body's ability to create heat, resulting in hypothermia. Core temperature readings help classify hypothermia. Mild hypothermia is temperatures between 32 °C (89.6 °F) and 35°C (95 °F) and is caused by impaired thermoregulation. Moderate hypothermia is temperatures between 28 C (82.4 °F) and 32 °C (89.6 °F) caused by sustained extreme cold exposure, and severe...
01:22Methods of reducing fever
The signs and symptoms of fever include hot and dry skin, flushed face, thirst, muscle aches, anorexia, headache, tachycardia, tachypnea, and fatigue. Elevated body temperature is reduced using two methods: pharmacological and nonpharmacological. Proper identification and treatment of the root cause of a fever is of utmost importance.
Pharmacological Methods of Reducing Fever:
Pharmacological Methods of Reducing Fever:
01:25Increased Body Temperature
A body temperature above 38°C (100.4 °F) is known as fever or pyrexia, and a person with fever is termed 'febrile.' Typically, the hypothalamus, a part of the brain that acts as the body's thermostat, regulates body temperature through a thermoregulatory setpoint. It receives signals from cold and warm thermal receptors throughout the body and adjusts the body's temperature accordingly. Fever occurs when this hypothalamic setpoint is altered, usually in response to an infection or illness.
01:29Hepatic Encephalopathy
DefinitionHepatic encephalopathy is a reversible neurologic syndrome that results from advanced liver dysfunction or portosystemic shunting. It leads to disturbances in cognition, behavior, and motor function due to the brain’s exposure to gut-derived toxins that the liver fails to detoxify.EtiologyThis condition develops either in the setting of acute fulminant hepatitis or progressively during chronic liver disease, such as cirrhosis and portal hypertension. Portosystemic shunting—including...