Outcome at early school age and adolescence after hypothermia-treated hypoxic–ischaemic encephalopathy: an observational, population-based study

Objective We aimed to describe long-term outcomes following hypoxic–ischaemic encephalopathy (HIE) treated with therapeutic hypothermia (TH). Design Prospective, population-based observational study. Setting Tertiary level neonatal intensive care units and neonatal outpatient clinic, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden. Patients Sixty-six infants treated with TH due to HIE between 2007 and 2009. Interventions At 6–8 years and 10–12 years of age, children were assessed using a standardised neurological examination, the Movement Assessment Battery for Children, Second Edition (MABC-2) and the Wechsler Intelligence Scales for Children IV/V. Parents completed the Five-to-Fifteen (FTF) questionnaire. Main outcome measures Adverse outcome among survivors was defined as cerebral palsy (CP), epilepsy, hearing or visual impairment, full-scale IQ (FSIQ) below 85, attention deficit disorder with/without hyperactivity, autism spectrum disorder or developmental coordination disorder. Results Mortality was 12%. Seventeen per cent of survivors developed CP. Mean FSIQ was normal in children without major neuromotor impairment. Assessment in early adolescence revealed emerging deficits in 26% of children with a previously favourable outcome. The proportion of children exhibiting executive difficulties increased from 7% to 19%. This was reflected also by a significantly increased proportion of children with an FTF score >90th percentile compared with norms in early adolescence. The proportion of children with an MABC-2 score ≤5th percentile was also significantly increased compared with norms. Conclusions Survivors without major neuromotor impairment have normal intelligence. The incidence of executive difficulties appears to be increased in this patient population. More subtle difficulties may go undetected at early school-age.