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Updated: Nov 1, 2025
Biochemical Measurement of Neonatal Hypoxia
Published on: August 24, 2011
Blood gas measures as predictors for neonatal encephalopathy severity
Kullasate Sakpichaisakul1,2, Krittin J Supapannachart1, Mohamed El-DIb1
1Department of Pediatric Newborn Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Objective:
To correlate arterial umbilical cord gas (aUCG) and infant blood gas with severity of neurological injury.
Study Design:
Retrospective single-site study of infants evaluated for therapeutic hypothermia. Clinical neurological examination and a validated MRI scoring system were used to assess injury severity.
Results:
Sixty-eight infants were included. aUCG base deficit (BD) and lactate correlated with infant blood gas counterparts (r = 0.43 and r = 0.56, respectively). aUCG and infant pH did not correlate. Infant blood gas lactate (RADJ2 = 0.40), infant BD (RADJ2 = 0.26), infant pH (RADJ2 = 0.17), aUCG base deficit (RADJ2 = 0.08), and aUCG lactate (RADJ2 = 0.11) were associated with clinical neurological examination severity. aUCG and infant blood gas measures were not correlated with MRI score.
Conclusion:
Metabolic measures from initial infant blood gases were most associated with the clinical neurological examination severity and can be used to evaluate hypoxic-ischemic cerebral injury risk.
