Abstract

Introduction: Birth asphyxia and intrapartum brain injury can cause death or irreversible brain damage. The only known treatment that has been shown to improve prognosis is therapeutic hypothermia. Our goal was to assess the parameters associated with death in newborns receiving therapeutic hypothermia.
Methods: This retrospective cohort study was conducted in a neonatal intensive care unit and included neonates who underwent therapeutic hypothermia due to perinatal asphyxia over ten
years. Patients were categorized into survivors and non-survivors based on in-hospital outcomes. Demographic characteristics, clinical parameters, laboratory findings, and complications were retrieved from medical records. Prognostic factors were compared between groups using appropriate statistical methods, and multivariate logistic regression was performed to identify independent predictors of mortality.
Results: A total of 114 newborns treated with therapeutic hypothermia were analyzed, of whom 11 (9.6%) died due to perinatal asphyxia (PA). Non-survivors had significantly lower gestational age (37±2 vs. 38.4±1.6 weeks, p=0.042), lower 5-minute Apgar scores [5 (1–5) vs. 5.5 (4–7), p=0.048], and higher cesarean delivery rates (81.8% vs. 41.7%, p=0.011). Severe findings on aEEG and Sarnat Stage 3 were more common among non-survivors (p

Key words: Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, morbidity, mortality, perinatal asphyxia, therapeutic hypothermia