Brain injury following mild hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy in neonates–Ten-year experience in a tertiary perinatal center

Objective We aimed to evaluate abnormal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings in neonates with mild hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE). Study design This was a single-center, retrospective study of mild HIE conducted from 2011 to 2020. Almost all neonates with mild HIE received management targeted to a temperature of 36 ± 0.5°C for 72 h and underwent MRI (135 of 145). We evaluated medical records and assessed amplitude-integrated electroencephalography (aEEG). Result All participants survived until discharge. Abnormal MRI findings were present in 23/135 (17%) neonates. The normal versus abnormal MRI-finding groups had similar characteristics, except discontinuous aEEG patterns ( p = 0.002) and inotropic drugs ( p = 0.035). Regression analyses showed discontinuous aEEG patterns (odds ratio = 19.3, 95% confidence interval=1.88–197, p = 0.013) being associated with higher odds of abnormal MRI findings. Conclusion Our study suggests that a discontinuous aEEG pattern is associated with abnormal MRI findings and can be used to discuss the definition of mild HIE.