A randomised controlled trial of whole body cooling on the outcome of term infants with hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy

Funding Activity

Website
http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/216725

Funding Status
Closed

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Funded Activity Summary

The aim of this project is to investigate whether the brain damage caused by a serious lack of oxygen around the time of birth can be prevented or reduced by cooling the baby's temperature to 34C for 72 hours. The consequences, of a lack of oxygen, to the brain, around the time of birth can be devastating. Over 30% of those babies with abnormal brain function soon after birth either die or survive with severe permanent brain damage. There is no specific treatment for these infants. Evidence from studies in animals, as well as human adults and a small number of newborn infants, suggests that moderate body cooling started soon after birth in babies with serious abnormal brain function might prevent or reduce brain damage. This project is a multicentre trial, where infants who have suffered from a severe lack of oxygen around birth, are randomised to body cooling to 34C for 72 hours. This will be started as soon as possible after birth at their hospital of birth. If the baby needs to be transported this will be started when the newborn transport team collects the baby for transfer to a newborn intensive care unit. This new treatment will be compared with maintaining the baby's temperature at 37C. This project will investigate a new, simple and pragmatic treatment that might reduce brain damage. If it finds that cooling infants who have been severely deprived of oxygen is an effective and safe treatment, the information will be applicable to any of the very large number of babies around the world who suffer from a serious lack of oxygen around the time of birth.

Funded Activity Details

Start Date: 01-01-2002

End Date: 01-01-2005

Funding Scheme: NHMRC Project Grants

Funding Amount: $386,732.00

Funder: National Health and Medical Research Council

Research Topics

ANZSRC Field of Research (FoR)

Paediatrics

ANZSRC Socio-Economic Objective (SEO)

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Other Keywords

Body Cooling | Central nervous system | Hypoxic Ischaemic Encephalopathy | Neonatal intensive care | New treatment | New treatment for hypoxic ischaemic encephalopy | Newborn Encephalopathy | Prevention of brain damage | Randomised controlled trial

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