INTRODUCTION
Perinatal hypoxic ischemic brain injury is associated with high neonatal mortality and severe long-term neurological morbidity.1 Until recently, there were no therapies for this devastating disease. Several clinical trials evaluating the efficacy of hypothermia in neonates with encephalopathy have shown significant reduction in death and disability at 18-month follow-up.2–12 Although evidence from clinical trials confirms that mild therapeutic hypothermia improves outcomes, 40–50% of neonates treated with hypothermia die or have significant neurological disability.
This study had three goals: 1) to evaluate how the use of therapeutic hypothermia is changing in U.S. clinical practice, 2) to determine which methods and devices for delivering hypothermia are being used, and 3) to evaluate whether there are any differences in the course and outcomes of neonates being treated with whole body cooling versus head cooling.