Impact of therapeutic hypothermia on infantile spasms: an observational cohort study.
Farah Abu Dhais, Brian McNamara, Olivia O'Mahony and 4 others
PMID 31518001WHAT IT FOUND
Therapeutic hypothermia did not significantly reduce infantile spasms in severe HIE, though fewer treated infants developed them.
HIE severity strongly predicted spasm risk. Outcomes remained poor with high mortality and developmental delay.
Key findings
01Therapeutic hypothermia was not significantly associated with reduced infantile spasms in severe HIE, with 4 of 16 untreated infants developing spasms compared to 1 of 24 treated infants.
02Severity of hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy significantly predicted the development of infantile spasms, with 5 of 40 infants with severe HIE developing spasms compared to 2 of 89 with moderate HIE.
03Global developmental delay was present in 35 infants, and 12 infants died between the ages of 6 months and 10 years.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study had a small cohort size, resulting in low statistical power for subgroup analyses. The effect of therapeutic hypothermia on infantile spasm incidence could not be definitively ascertained due to the small number of cases. The study was retrospective and conducted in a single region, which may limit generalisability.
Declared interests
None declared.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that therapeutic hypothermia prevents infantile spasms. The study found no statistically significant reduction in spasms among treated infants with severe HIE, and the small sample size limits certainty.