How to monitor the brain during immediate neonatal transition and resuscitation? A systematic qualitative review of the literature.
BACKGROUND
The brain is vulnerable to injury and dysfunction during transition after birth in neonates. Clinical assessment of the neurological status immediately following birth is difficult, especially during resuscitation.


OBJECTIVE
Our aim was to review physiological monitoring of the brain during immediate postnatal transition - the first 15 min after birth.


METHODS
A systematic search of PubMed and EMBASE was performed using the following terms: newborn, neonate, neonates, transition, after-birth, delivery room, cerebral, brain, monitoring, neurology, oxygenation, saturation, activity, imaging, perfusion, Doppler, and blood flow. Additional articles were identified by manual search of cited references. Only human studies describing cerebral changes during the first 15 min after birth were included.


RESULTS
Six studies were identified, which described sequential measurements of cerebral perfusion using Doppler sonography, one of these in combination with continuous monitoring of cerebral tissue oxygenation with near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). A further 15 studies were identified that used NIRS to continuously monitor cerebral tissue oxygenation. In one study, cerebral activity was continuously monitored with an additional amplitude-integrated encephalogram.


CONCLUSIONS
Monitoring the brain provides additional information during immediate transition and may help to guide resuscitation. Doppler sonography is technically challenging during resuscitation and is therefore of limited value. NIRS provides continuous monitoring and is feasible even in very-low-birth-weight infants. In the future, an amplitude-integrated encephalogram might give further information on the status of the brain, but before any of these modalities can routinely be recommended during neonatal resuscitation, clinical trials targeting stable brain function parameters are needed.
Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alta., Canada.
Gerhard
G
Pichler
Po-Yin
PY
Cheung
Khalid
K
Aziz
Berndt
B
Urlesberger
Georg M
GM
Schmölzer
D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D001921:Brain / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000503:physiopathology; D058256:Brain Waves; D016887:Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation; D002560:Cerebrovascular Circulation; D004569:Electroencephalography; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic / Q000379:methods*; D010092:Oximetry; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D019265:Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D017585:Ultrasonography, Doppler, Transcranial
D015415:Biomarkers; D010100:Oxygen