About

• Neonatal encephalopathy is a disorder consisting of abnormal neurological behaviour from birth, the majority are due to the infant experiencing hypoxia ante- or intrapartum (resulting in hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy. In Ireland, therapeutic hypothermia (TH) is the standard of care as treatment for moderate and severe NE since 2012.
• Aim: This study aimed to describe the demographic factors among women who gave birth to infants requiring TH in Ireland from 2016 to 2020.
• Methods: Retrospective reviews of inpatient medical records on mothers whose infants received TH were collected on site in the 19 maternity units/hospitals.
• Results: According to HIPE data, 295,739 women were discharged from Irish hospitals during 2016-2020 after giving birth to a total of 301,442 infants. Over the 5-year period 357 infants received TH in Ireland. The risk of TH per 1,000 infants delivered was 1.18 (95% CI=1.06-1.31) equivalent to one case in approximately 850 births. The mortality was 14% (43 infants of 357). Both the incident rate and mortality have remained consistent over the period 2016 to 2020. The data reported here confirm an association with nulliparity, fetal growth restriction and increased BMI of the mother. The data suggest an association with lower socio economic circumstances/ethnicity but not with the mother’s age or gender of the baby. Conclusion: Data collection of this nature will allow comparison with other countries and enable us to monitor any changes in TH rates in Ireland.

People

• Aenne Helps 
• Indra San Lazaro Campillo 
• Julie McGinley 
• Paul Corcoran
• Peter Filan 
• Richard Greene
• John Murphy