Perinatal asphyxia.

INTRODUCTION

In resource-rich countries, the incidence of severe perinatal asphyxia (causing death or severe neurological impairment) is about 1/1000 live births. In resource-poor countries, perinatal asphyxia is probably much more common. Data from hospital-based studies in such settings suggest an incidence of 5-10/1000 live births.

METHODS AND OUTCOMES

We conducted a systematic review and aimed to answer the following clinical question: What are the effects of interventions in term or near-term newborns with perinatal asphyxia? We searched: Medline, Embase, The Cochrane Library and other important databases up to June 2006 (Clinical Evidence reviews are updated periodically, please check our website for the most up-to-date version of this review). We included harms alerts from relevant organisations such as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

RESULTS

We found 25 systematic reviews, RCTs or observational studies that met our inclusion criteria. We performed a GRADE evaluation of the quality of evidence for interventions.

CONCLUSIONS

In this systematic review we present information relating to the effectiveness and safety of the following interventions: anticonvulsants (prophylactic), antioxidants, calcium channel blockers, corticosteroids, fluid restriction, head and/or whole body hypothermia, hyperbaric oxygen treatment, hyperventilation, Iinotrope support, magnesium sulphate, mannitol, opiate antagonists, and resuscitation (in air versus higher concentrations of oxygen).