Predicting Outcomes After Neonatal Hypoxic-Ischemic Injury

After neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, the presence and severity of central gray matter damage on early brain magnetic resonance imaging accurately predicts adverse motor outcomes at age 2 years.

Although brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is helpful in predicting outcomes after hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), its accuracy and optimal timing are not known (Early Hum Dev 2010; 86:351). In this retrospective 14-year cohort study, researchers correlated characteristics of MRI at a median age of 10 days with mortality data and neurodevelopmental outcomes at a median age of 2 years in children with neonatal HIE. The study was limited to infants with evidence of basal ganglia and thalamic (BGT) injury on MRI, a hallmark of acute perinatal hypoxia-ischemia.

Severe BGT injury was highly predictive of severe motor impairments at follow-up (sensitivity, 96%; specificity, 77%; positive predictive value, 85%; negative predictive value…

Reviewing Author

Santina Zanelli, MD