Perinatal infection and hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy: a pilot study

Abstract

Recent studies suggest a synergic effect of infection and hypoxia-ischemia in the causation of perinatal brain damage. We conducted a prospective pilot study on the presence of infection in hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), focusing on neurotropic viruses. Sixteen newborns with HIE were included in the study. There were no confirmed cases of viral infection. There was a case of bacterial early onset sepsis and four cases of suspected sepsis due to clinical and/or analytical signs, but with negative cultures. Our results do not support universal screening for viral infection in cases of HIE.

• Asphyxia
• C reactive protein
• infection
• neurological damage
• newborn
• virus

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflict of interest.

This work was partially supported by Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria, Health Institute “Carlos III”, Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitivity [Grant number: PI12/00904].