title: Establishing a hypothermia service for infants with suspected hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy.
abstract: The translation of new treatments based upon established evidence into clinical practice is often difficult. The establishment of a therapeutic hypothermia (TH) service and a related cooling register would provide the opportunity to examine how a new therapy becomes implemented in a country or region. The objectives of a TH program should be: to provide guidance to clinicians who are considering the introduction of this new therapy; to ensure standardized clinical practices; to audit the implementation and conduct of TH; to provide surveillance for cooling-related adverse effects; and to evaluate the subsequent neurodevelopmental outcome. Prior to the use of TH, the most important practices to prioritize during its implementation should be identified and include the following: ensure timely identification of infants with neonatal encephalopathy; develop a coordinated system with the local or regional referral cooling center; develop a transport team capable of performing cooling during transport; ensure that each participating unit has access to a national encephalopathy register, and have developmental follow-up arrangements in place that are appropriate and uniform for the region/country.
authors: Neonatology and Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Clocheville Hospital, University François Rabelais, Tours, France; INSERM Research Unit 930, University François Rabelais, Tours, France. Electronic address: elie.saliba@univ-tours.fr.
authors: Elie
authors: E
authors: Saliba
authors: Neonatology and Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Clocheville Hospital, University François Rabelais, Tours, France.
authors: Nadine
authors: N
authors: Fakhri
authors: Neonatology and Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Grenoble University Hospital, France.
authors: Thierry
authors: T
authors: Debillon
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D007036:Hypothermia, Induced; D020925:Hypoxia-Ischemia, Brain / Q000628:therapy*; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D012042:Registries
keywords: Cooling register; Guidelines; Neonatal encephalopathy; Therapeutic hypothermia