Abstract
Objective The objective of this study was to compare complications and mortality in neonates
with hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation
(ECMO) who did and did not receive therapeutic hypothermia (TH).
Study Design The Extracorporeal Life Support Organization registry was queried from 2005 to 2013
to identified infants with HIE. Infants ≤30 days of age with HIE on respiratory ECMO
were included. Fisher's exact test and the Wilcoxon's rank-sum test were used to compare
neonates with and without TH. Logistic regression was used to examine the association
of TH with complications and mortality.
Results There were no difference between neonates with HIE who did (n = 78) and did not (n = 109) receive TH in demographics, severity of illness, complications, and mortality
(p = 0.21).
Conclusion No differences in complications or mortality in neonates with HIE and respiratory
ECMO were observed between those who did and did not receive TH. We suggest that for
neonates requiring respiratory ECMO who also have HIE, TH is not contraindicated.
Keywords
ECMO - HIE - therapeutic hypothermia - neonates