Blood gas measures as predictors for neonatal encephalopathy severity

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 (R-ADJ(2) = 0.40), infant BD (R-ADJ(2) = 0.26), infant pH (R-ADJ(2) = 0.17), aUCG base deficit (R-ADJ(2) = 0.08), and aUCG lactate (R-ADJ(2) = 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.

Automated summary

The study found that lactate and base deficit in infant blood gas were correlated with the severity of neurological injury, while pH and aUCG in infants were not. Additionally, metabolic measures were most associated with the severity of clinical neurological examination, but not with MRI scoring.