Neonatal encephalopathy: An inadequate term for hypoxic–ischemic encephalopathy

A topography of lesions highly correlated with that defined by human neuropathology and by animal models, including primate models, of hypoxia–ischemia near the time of delivery warrants the specific designation of neonatal HIE.

Abstract

This Point of View article addresses neonatal encephalopathy (NE) presumably caused by hypoxia-ischemia and the terminology currently in wide use for this disorder. The nonspecific term NE is commonly utilized for those infants with the clinical and imaging characteristics of neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE). Multiple magnetic resonance imaging studies of term infants with the clinical setting of presumed hypoxia-ischemia near the time of delivery have delineated a topography of lesions highly correlated with that defined by human neuropathology and by animal models, including primate models, of hypoxia-ischemia. These imaging findings, coupled with clinical features consistent with perinatal hypoxic-ischemic insult(s), warrant the specific designation of neonatal HIE.