Fantoms
NEONATAL ENCEPHALOPATHY AND DEVELOPMENTAL DELAY
Marlow and colleagues report the neurodevelopmental outcomes at school age of a group of infants who developed encephalopathy of at least 24 hours duration in the first week of life. Although no child had a congenital anomaly or an identified postnatal cause for their encephalopathy, the causes of the encephalopathies in this study and the extent or timing of any contributory hypoxic ischaemic event were not characterised in detail. Amongst the 50 children without motor disability on follow up were 18 children who had severe encephalopathy. They had reduced cognitive scores compared to controls. Scores were not reduced after moderate encephalopathy. This study challenges the view that survivors of encephalopathy who …
