Perinatal asphyxia

Perinatal asphyxia

Perinatal asphyxia = antepartum or intrapartum hypoxia, hypercapnia and acidosis associated with organ dysfunction (predominantly ventilation, circulation and neurologic impairment) Ventilation changes Compensatory tachypnea => primary apnea => gasping => secondary apnea Gasping causes aspiration of amniotic fluid (possibly with meconium) Continued secretion (absence of reversal) through alveolar-capillary membrane => increased amount of fluid…

Seizures

Seizures

There is a number of different types of seizure activity in newborns. Seizure types subtle seizures (grimace, blinking, yawning, salivation, cycling, apnea) myoclonus clonic seizures (unifocal, multifocal) tonic seizures (generalized hypertonia, decerebration-like posture, growling, apnea, bulbar deviation) Etiology congenital CNS malformations hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) intracranial hemorrhage (intraventricular, subdural hemorrhage) meningitis, encephalitis medication hypoglycemia,…

Intraventricular hemorrhage

Intraventricular hemorrhage

The intraventricular hemorrhage in the preterm infants usually originates in the germinal matrix (temporary developmental structure with significant vascular supply due to massive mitotic and metabolic activity). The structure is divided from the cerebral ventricles only by a thin layer of subependymal cells and disappears after 34 weeks of gestation – one…