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Therapeutic Hypothermia for Neonatal Encephalopathy

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Outline

  • The origins of Therapeutic Hypothermia

  • The Cooling trials

  • Pathophysiology of Therapeutic Hypothermia

  • Lingering questions about cooling

  • Summary

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Content prepared by

�Dr. Benjamin Courchia MD

&

Dr. Daphna Yasova Barbeau MD

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The origins of therapeutic hypothermia

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“Sarah Parks . . . gave still-birth to a baby boy . . . A young doctor assisting the Parks’ regular physician begged for an opportunity to experiment with an idea he had to rouse the lifeless infant. A tub of ice was ordered and the young doctor plunged the baby into it. Out came the screaming little Parks and he was named Gordon after the doctor who prodded him to life.” 

—Sir John Floyer, 1697

Wyatt, J. S. & Thoresen, M. Hypothermia Treatment and the Newborn. Pediatrics 100, 1028–1029 (1997).

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Miller, J. A. Factors in Neonatal Resistance to Anoxia. I. Temperature and Survival of Newborn Guinea Pigs Under Anoxia. Science 110, 113–114 (1949).

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J. A. Miller., Miller, F. S. & Westin, B. Hypothermia in the Treatment of Asphyxia Neonatorum. Neonatology 6, 148–163 (1964).

13 patients died

52 alive and well

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Papers recommending normothermia in preterm infants are published…. and hypothermia for full term infants with HIE gets sidelined for ˜20 years

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Robertson, C. M. T., Finer, N. N. & Grace, M. G. A. School performance of survivors of neonatal encephalopathy associated with birth asphyxia at term. J Pediatrics 114, 753–760 (1989).

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Coimbra, C. & Wieloch, T. Moderate hypothermia mitigates neuronal damage in the rat brain when initiated several hours following transient cerebral ischemia. Acta Neuropathol 87, 325–331 (1994).

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Thoresen, M. & Wyatt, J. Keeping a cool head, post‐hypoxic hypothermia–an old idea revisited. Acta Paediatr 86, 1029–1033 (1997).

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Gunn, A. J., Gunn, T. R., Gunning, M. I., Williams, C. E. & Gluckman, P. D. Neuroprotection With Prolonged Head Cooling Started Before Postischemic Seizures in Fetal Sheep. Pediatrics 102, 1098–1106 (1998).

Hypothermia group

Normothermia group

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The NICHD NRN Cooling Trial

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Shankaran, S. et al. Whole-Body Hypothermia for Neonatal Encephalopathy: Animal Observations as a Basis for a Randomized, Controlled Pilot Study in Term Infants. Pediatrics 110, 377–385 (2005).

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Shankaran, S. et al. Whole-Body Hypothermia for Neonatal Encephalopathy: Animal Observations as a Basis for a Randomized, Controlled Pilot Study in Term Infants. Pediatrics 110, 377–385 (2005).

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Shankaran, S. et al. Whole-Body Hypothermia for Neonatal Encephalopathy: Animal Observations as a Basis for a Randomized, Controlled Pilot Study in Term Infants. Pediatrics 110, 377–385 (2005).

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The Cool Cap Trial

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Gluckman, P. D. et al. Selective head cooling with mild systemic hypothermia after neonatal encephalopathy: Multicentre randomised trial. Lancet 365, 663--670 (2005).

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Gluckman, P. D. et al. Selective head cooling with mild systemic hypothermia after neonatal encephalopathy: Multicentre randomised trial. Lancet 365, 663--670 (2005).

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Gluckman, P. D. et al. Selective head cooling with mild systemic hypothermia after neonatal encephalopathy: Multicentre randomised trial. Lancet 365, 663--670 (2005).

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Gluckman, P. D. et al. Selective head cooling with mild systemic hypothermia after neonatal encephalopathy: Multicentre randomised trial. Lancet 365, 663--670 (2005).

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The TOBY Trial

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Azzopardi, D. V. et al. Moderate Hypothermia to Treat Perinatal Asphyxial Encephalopathy. New Engl J Medicine 361, 1349–1358 (2009).

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Azzopardi, D. V. et al. Moderate Hypothermia to Treat Perinatal Asphyxial Encephalopathy. New Engl J Medicine 361, 1349–1358 (2009).

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Meta Analysis

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Shah, P. S. Hypothermia: a systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials. Seminars Fetal Neonatal Medicine 15, 238–246 (2010).

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Shah, P. S. Hypothermia: a systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials. Seminars Fetal Neonatal Medicine 15, 238–246 (2010).

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How does Therapeutic Hypothermia work?

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Volpe’s Neurology of the Newborn

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Volpe’s Neurology of the Newborn

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Volpe’s Neurology of the Newborn

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Lingering questions about hypothermia

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Cooling babies who do not meet “criteria”

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Smit, E., Liu, X., Jary, S., Cowan, F. & Thoresen, M. Cooling neonates who do not fulfil the standard cooling criteria - short- and long-term outcomes. Acta Paediatr 104, 138--145 (2015).

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Cooling babies longer and deeper

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Shankaran, S. et al. Effect of Depth and Duration of Cooling on Deaths in the NICU Among Neonates With Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA 312, (2014).

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Shankaran, S. et al. Effect of Depth and Duration of Cooling on Death or Disability at Age 18 Months Among Neonates With Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy: A Randomized Clinical Trial. Jama 318, 57–67 (2017).

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Can you start cooling after 6hrs?

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Laptook, A. R. et al. Effect of Therapeutic Hypothermia Initiated After 6 Hours of Age on Death or Disability Among Newborns With Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy: A Randomized Clinical Trial. Jama 318, 1550–1560 (2017)

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Therapeutic Hypothermia for mild HIE…

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#1 The definition of mild HIE is not perfect

#2 There is not yet sufficient evidence to answer this question

#3 Mild HIE does have some neurodevelopmental impact

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Kariholu, U. et al. Therapeutic hypothermia for mild neonatal encephalopathy: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Archives Dis Child - Fetal Neonatal Ed 105, 225 (2018).

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Perretta, L., Reed, R., Ross, G. & Perlman, J. Is there a role for therapeutic hypothermia administration in term infants with mild neonatal encephalopathy? J Perinatol 40, 522–529 (2019).

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Montaldo, P. et al. Therapeutic hypothermia initiated within 6 hours of birth is associated with reduced brain injury on MR biomarkers in mild hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy: a non-randomised cohort study. Archives Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed 104, F515–F520 (2019).

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Is passive cooling a thing?

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Lemyre, B. et al. Initiation of passive cooling at referring centre is most predictive of achieving early therapeutic hypothermia in asphyxiated newborns. Paediatr Child Healt 22, 264–268 (2017).

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Summary

  • Therapeutic hypothermia was first tried on asphyxiated neonates in the 1960s.
  • The cooling trials published in the early 2000’s showed a significant reduction in death or moderate-severe neurodevelopmental disability in patients with moderate to severe HIE.
  • Therapeutic hypothermia initiated within the therapeutic window can reduce the impact of the secondary energy failure that normally leads to cell death
  • The use of hypothermia outside of the usual indications (after 6hrs, mild HIE, etc) remains debated and warrants more evidence.

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Thank You