The use of therapeutic whole body cooling in treating hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy in the newborn – the fi rst case in Poland

Abstract

Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (ENN) concerns neonates born after 35 completed weeks of gestation. The incidence rate has been shown to be 1-6/1000 births and can lead to signifi cant permanent neurological damage, cerebral palsy and even death. Until the whole body cooling and selective brain cooling methods have been accepted, the treatment of children with ENN was only symptomatic. The article describes the fi rst case of ENN neonatal treatment with the whole body hypothermia in Poland, which took place at the Department of Neonatology, Poznań University of Medical Sciences. Currently, both methods – whole body hypothermia and selective brain cooling – off er a chance for a normal neurological development and a better life for children born with ENN. Both methods are accessible in a few centers in Poland.