Condition Lookup
Sub-Category:
Neonatal Neurology
Number of Conditions: 3
Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE)
Specialty: Pediatrics
Category: Neurological Disorders
Sub-category: Neonatal Neurology
Symptoms:
difficulty breathing; low apgar scores; abnormal muscle tone (floppiness or stiffness); seizures; lethargy; feeding difficulties
Root Cause:
Reduced oxygen or blood flow to the brain around the time of birth, leading to brain injury.
How it's Diagnosed: videos
Clinical signs (e.g., low Apgar scores), brain imaging (MRI, cranial ultrasound), EEG to detect seizures, and blood gas analysis (acidosis).
Treatment:
Therapeutic hypothermia (cooling therapy), supportive care (ventilation, fluids), seizure control, and monitoring for long-term complications.
Medications:
Phenobarbital (anticonvulsant to treat seizures), midazolam (sedative/anticonvulsant), dopamine or dobutamine (vasopressors to support blood pressure), and medications to control metabolic disturbances (e.g., sodium bicarbonate for acidosis).
Prevalence:
How common the health condition is within a specific population.
Affects approximately 1-3 per 1,000 live births in high-resource settings, with higher prevalence in low-resource settings.
Risk Factors:
Factors or behaviors that increase the likelihood of developing the condition.
Prolonged labor, umbilical cord complications (prolapse or compression), placental abruption, severe maternal hypotension, or infection.
Prognosis:
The expected outcome or course of the condition over time.
Prognosis depends on severity; mild cases may recover fully, while moderate-to-severe cases risk long-term complications such as cerebral palsy, developmental delays, or epilepsy.
Complications:
Additional problems or conditions that may arise as a result of the original condition.
Cerebral palsy, developmental delays, epilepsy, vision and hearing impairments, and learning disabilities.
Neonatal seizures
Specialty: Pediatrics
Category: Neurological Disorders
Sub-category: Neonatal Neurology
Symptoms:
abnormal movements (jerking, rhythmic twitching); staring spells; apnea (pauses in breathing); lip smacking; sudden muscle stiffness or floppiness; unexplained changes in heart rate or blood pressure
Root Cause:
Electrical dysfunction in the brain due to underlying causes such as hypoxia, infection, metabolic imbalances, or structural brain abnormalities.
How it's Diagnosed: videos
EEG to detect abnormal brain activity, neuroimaging (MRI or cranial ultrasound), and metabolic and infectious workup (e.g., blood, cerebrospinal fluid tests).
Treatment:
Treat the underlying cause (e.g., infection, metabolic imbalance) and use anticonvulsant medications for seizure control.
Medications:
Phenobarbital (first-line anticonvulsant), levetiracetam (anticonvulsant), fosphenytoin or phenytoin (anticonvulsants), and midazolam (used for refractory seizures).
Prevalence:
How common the health condition is within a specific population.
Occurs in approximately 1-3 per 1,000 live births, more common in preterm infants.
Risk Factors:
Factors or behaviors that increase the likelihood of developing the condition.
Premature birth, hypoxia-ischemia, infections (e.g., meningitis, sepsis), intracranial hemorrhage, metabolic disturbances (e.g., hypoglycemia, hypocalcemia).
Prognosis:
The expected outcome or course of the condition over time.
Prognosis depends on the underlying cause and severity; some infants recover fully, while others may develop epilepsy, cerebral palsy, or cognitive impairments.
Complications:
Additional problems or conditions that may arise as a result of the original condition.
Long-term epilepsy, developmental delays, cerebral palsy, and learning disabilities.
Periventricular leukomalacia (PVL)
Specialty: Pediatrics
Category: Neurological Disorders
Sub-category: Neonatal Neurology
Symptoms:
difficulty with movement or coordination; muscle stiffness (spasticity); delayed milestones; vision or hearing impairments; seizures (in severe cases)
Root Cause:
White matter brain injury due to insufficient blood flow or oxygen, typically in premature infants.
How it's Diagnosed: videos
Cranial ultrasound (routine screening in preterm infants), MRI for detailed imaging of white matter damage.
Treatment:
There is no specific treatment for PVL; management focuses on supportive care, physical and occupational therapy, and treating associated conditions such as spasticity or seizures.
Medications:
Baclofen (muscle relaxant for spasticity), diazepam (muscle relaxant), anticonvulsants such as levetiracetam or phenobarbital (for seizures).
Prevalence:
How common the health condition is within a specific population.
Affects 4-26% of very preterm infants (born before 32 weeks gestation).
Risk Factors:
Factors or behaviors that increase the likelihood of developing the condition.
Premature birth, low birth weight, infection or inflammation during pregnancy, hypoxia-ischemia, and maternal conditions such as preeclampsia or chorioamnionitis.
Prognosis:
The expected outcome or course of the condition over time.
Depends on severity; mild cases may have minimal effects, while severe cases can lead to cerebral palsy, developmental delays, or intellectual disabilities.
Complications:
Additional problems or conditions that may arise as a result of the original condition.
Cerebral palsy, epilepsy, developmental delays, and cognitive or behavioral challenges.