A new study published in Pediatric Research has concluded that prior studies underestimated the cognitive delay of school-age children who have undergone cooling therapy for neonatal encephalopathy (hypoxic-ischemic brain injury during labor and delivery). While the cooling therapy (also known as therapeutic hypothermia) is critical to help the brain injured child survive, and while it works remarkably well to lessen the extent of the brain injury, it is still important to understand the HIE has devastating consequences. When a full term baby is born with HIE, cooling therapy is initiated. The researchers studied the long-term benefits of cooling and found surprising results.
The researchers studied children who had a brain injury at birth called neonatal encephalopathy, which happens when a baby’s brain doesn’t get enough oxygen. Doctors used cooling therapy, where they gently cooled the babies’ bodies to help protect their brains. The scientists wanted to know if these babies would grow up to think and learn like other kids. They followed how these children were doing when they were toddlers and again when they were around 6 or 7 years old.
The researchers found that some of the kids were doing just as well as other children their age, which means the cooling treatment helped their brains recover. But some kids still had trouble with things like memory, attention, and language as they got older. This showed that even though the treatment helped, some kids still needed extra support in school and as they grow. The study showed how important it is to keep helping these children as they get older so they can do their best.
If your baby underwent cooling therapy for a brain injury, the injury may have been due to the negligence of the nurses or doctors. If your baby suffered a brain injury, contact us today to see if we can help.
