Time to Reaching Target Cooling Temperature and 2-year Outcomes in Infants with Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy

To determine if time to reaching target temperature (TT) is associated with death or neurodevelopmental impairment (NDI) at 2 years of age in infants with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE). Newborn infants ≥36 weeks of gestation diagnosed with moderate or severe HIE and treated with therapeutic hypothermia were stratified based on time at which TT was reached, defined as early (ie, ≤4 hours of age) or late (>4 hours of age). Primary outcomes were death or NDI. Secondary outcomes included neurodevelopmental assessment with Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, third edition (BSID-III) at age 2. Among 500 infants, the median time to reaching TT was 4.3 hours (IWR, 3.2-5.7 hours). Infants in early TT group (n = 211 [42%]) compared with the late TT group (n = 289 [58%]) were more likely to be inborn (23% vs 13%; P