Implementation of active therapeutic hypothermia across a regional transport network for infants transferred for neonatal encephalopathy
Early therapeutic hypothermia (TH) improves survival without disability for infants with hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy (HIE). However, many infants are born in centres without servo-controlled TH and rely on passive cooling prior to transfer. This study demonstrates that the introduction of active TH by both the transport team and by referring centres is associated with significant improvements in time to reach target temperature, minimising overcooling and reducing transport stabilisation times. Investment in active TH provision by all birth centres and transport teams could be a cost-effective method to reduce birth-related brain injury and improve outcomes of infants with HIE.
Authors
- D N Sobithadevi
- Jack Μ. Fletcher (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1181-6721)
- Julia Edwards (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8337-8962)
- Shalini Ojha (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5668-4227)
- Davina Sham
- Andrew Currie (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5193-3404)
- Aarti Mistry (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0338-1833)
- Benjamin James Baucells (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4620-6421)
- Don Sharkey (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4989-8697)
- Andrew D. Leslie (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8644-5232)
- A Lakshmanan
- Nora Imolya
Institutions
- Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (GB)
- University of Nottingham (GB)
- University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust (GB)
- University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust (GB)
- University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust (GB)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Pediatric Research
- Published
- 2025-06-27
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41390-025-04248-x
- Primary Topic
- Neonatal and fetal brain pathology
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust