Hyperglycaemia and outcome in neonates with hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy

Background. Hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy (HIE) remains a leading cause of death and disability in term neonates despite therapeutic hypothermia. Hyperglycaemia in the first 12 hours of life is associated with poor outcomes in some studies. This relationship has not yet been explored in South African (SA) cohorts. Objective. To describe the association between hyperglycaemia (in the first 12 hours of life) and poor outcome, which was defined as death or a severely abnormal amplitude-integrated electroencephalogram (aEEG) at 48 hours, in neonates with moderate-to-severe HIE who were treated with hypothermia at an SA tertiary hospital. Methods. Folders from a database of 57 neonates with moderate-to-severe HIE treated with hypothermia between January 2011 and December 2012, were reviewed to obtain glycaemic profiles. Maternal and neonatal characteristics and outcomes were extracted from the database. Results. Only 47 neonates had adequate glucose and aEEG data. Seventeen neonates (36%) had hyperglycaemia (>8.3 mmol/L), 25 (53%) were normoglycaemic and 5 neonates (10%) were hypoglycaemic (<2.3 mmol/L). Hyperglycaemia was only associated with death or severely abnormal aEEG at a glucose value ≥25.6 mmol/L. Hyperglycaemia was significantly associated with a low 5-minute Apgar score (p=0.007), severely abnormal aEEG at 6 hours (p=0.029), and a higher HIE score at 6 hours (p=0.002). Hyperglycaemia was associated with death (odds ratio 10; 95% confidence interval 1 - 96; p=0.045), but the association was not independent of the 5-minute Apgar score. Conclusion. Early hyperglycaemia in neonates with moderate-to-severe HIE was associated with disease severity at birth and death despite cooling.