Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 27, 2026
Author Spotlight: Assessing the Feasibility of Using Amplitude-Integrated EEG During Neonatal Transport
Published on: June 21, 2024
Rewarming affects EEG background in term newborns with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy undergoing therapeutic
Ala Birca1, Anne Lortie2, Veronica Birca3
1Division of Neurology, CHU Sainte Justine, Department of Neurosciences and Paediatrics, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada; CHU Sainte-Justine Research Center, Montreal, Canada.
Objective:
To investigate how rewarming impacts the evolution of EEG background in neonates with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) undergoing therapeutic hypothermia (TH).
Methods:
We recruited a retrospective cohort of 15 consecutive newborns with moderate (9) and severe (6) HIE monitored with a continuous EEG during TH and at least 12h after its end. EEG background was analyzed using conventional visual and quantitative EEG analysis methods including EEG discontinuity, absolute and relative spectral magnitudes. One patient with seizures on rewarming was excluded from analyses.
Results:
Visual and quantitative analyses demonstrated significant changes in EEG background from pre- to post-rewarming, characterized by an increased EEG discontinuity, more pronounced in newborns with severe compared to moderate HIE. Neonates with moderate HIE also had an increase in the relative magnitude of slower delta and a decrease in higher frequency theta and alpha waves with rewarming.
Conclusions:
Rewarming affects EEG background in HIE newborns undergoing TH, which may represent a transient adaptive response or reflect an evolving brain injury.
Significance:
EEG background impairment induced by rewarming may represent a biomarker of evolving encephalopathy in HIE newborns undergoing TH and underscores the importance of continuously monitoring the brain health in critically ill neonates.
