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Management of cardiovascular dysfunction in neonates with hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy; a national survey of current practice in the UK

Journal of Perinatology volume 42, pages 1695–1696 (2022)Cite this article

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Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) is a significant cause of mortality and morbidity. Therapeutic hypothermia (TH) for 72 h is now the standard of care in these neonates. Cardiovascular (CVS) instability has been noted up to 80% in neonates with HIE clinical trials of TH [1], with significant variability in diagnosis and management [2]. Furthermore, there is a growing recognition of early cardiovascular instability on long-term neurodevelopment health [3]. Accordingly, we aimed to evaluate the practice of neonatologists in the approach to cardiovascular assessment and therapy among neonates with HIE/TH in the UK.

A descriptive cross-sectional survey design was sent to lead clinicians of the 60 eligible UK level 3 neonatal units in 2021. The survey was developed with the SurveyMonkey® platform (Survey Monkey, Portland, OR) and a 10- part questionnaire using multiple-choice or dichotomous questions were designed with a specific focus on the availability of guidelines on cardiovascular management in babies with HIE, the use of echocardiogram and/or targeted neonatal echocardiography (TNE), definition of hypotension, indication for commencing treatment, and choices of cardiovascular agents. This was a descriptive study design with no attempt to correlate to outcome measures.

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Data availability

All data generated during this study are included in this published article.

References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Newborn Intensive Care Unit, Liverpool Women’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool, UK

    Annie Colthorpe, Amira Latiff, Nim Subhedar, Elaine Neary & Manigandan Chandrasekaran

Authors
  1. Annie Colthorpe
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  2. Amira Latiff
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  3. Nim Subhedar
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  4. Elaine Neary
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  5. Manigandan Chandrasekaran
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Contributions

The idea was conceived by MC, NS and EN. Survey questions were drafted by AC and AL initially, then reviewed by two consultant neonatologists with expertise in neonatal haemodynamics (EN and NS) and consultant neonatologist with expertise in neonatal neurology (MC) and finalised by all. Survey link was sent to all the clinical leads by AC, AL and MC. Data analysis and manuscript writing were completed by AC and AL initially, then final manuscript was reviewed and written by MC. The final manuscript was reviewed and agreed by all authors.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Manigandan Chandrasekaran.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Colthorpe, A., Latiff, A., Subhedar, N. et al. Management of cardiovascular dysfunction in neonates with hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy; a national survey of current practice in the UK. J Perinatol 42, 1695–1696 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41372-022-01526-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41372-022-01526-y

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