Children born with acute asphyxia may develop severe brain injury. Well, a recent thesis put forth by Karolinska Institutet stated that, since recent years there is an improvement in the prognosis for children born with severe acute asphyxia. This is because of the new clinical procedures and advanced diagnostics. It is assumed that, doctors are able to conclude a more reliable assessment, of the risk of serious brain damage. This is probably possible by measuring the levels of lactic acid in the blood during childbirth and the brain activity of the newborn afterwards. The study was based on the way babies born with acute hypoxia are treated.
Boubou Hallberg, paediatrician and researcher at the Department of Clinical Sciences, Intervention and Technology (CLINTEC), Karolinska Institutet explained, “Previously, we went by the EEG pattern when the baby was six hours old, which sometimes meant interrupting life-sustaining interventions. Now we know that the values can be normalised for up to 48 hours with brain cooling treatment, greatly reducing the risk of serious damage.”
Motor disabilities, like cerebral palsy (CP) may be faced by those babies, who have suffered with a brain damage due to asphyxia. But, the study supposedly highlights that, such babies may also register cognitive problems, such as ADHD, language disorders and difficulties processing impressions. Boubou Hallberg enlightened that such infants, ought to be observed until at least the age of six. They may also be provided with, supportive training and special needs teachers, when they start school. Infants are usually made to undergo a hypothermia therapy, wherein, the body temperature is reduced to 33.5 degrees for 72 hours.
In Sweden itself, approximately 120 babies develop severe brain injury every year. Hence, it is very important to find a complete cure for this ailment. Infants born with asphyxia should be properly taken care of and should be given accurate medications to fight this disease.