Electrocardiographic and echocardiographic changes during therapeutic hypothermia in encephalopathic infants with long-term adverse outcome

To assess the electrocardiography and echocardiography changes during therapeutic hypothermia and rewarming period in encephalopathic infants with long-term adverse neurological outcome. Prospective multicentre longitudinal study. We included 64 consecutive infants with moderate or severe hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy undergoing therapeutic hypothermia who had 18–24 month-outcome data. We analysed electrocardiography and heart rate changes before, during and after therapeutic hypothermia. Superior vena cava flow, left ventricular cardiac output and stroke volume were studied using echocardiography during and immediately after therapeutic hypothermia. An abnormal outcome was defined as death or moderate/severe disability at 18–24 months. Neonates with higher superior vena cava flow pre-rewarming had significantly higher odds of documented long-term adverse outcome when compared to newborns with good outcome (OR 1.57; 95%CI, 1.1–1.78; p = 0.01 after adjustment). QTc and RR intervals were significantly longer at 12, 24, 36 and 48 h in infants with good outcome compared with those with adverse outcome (p