Neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy: current management practices.

A national survey of training programs in neonatal-perinatal medicine was undertaken to determine neurologic management practices in dealing with the asphyxiated, term newborn. Seventy-two of 105 responses (68.6 per cent) were returned. Commonly used diagnostic tests include routine electroencephalography, cranial sonography, and determinations of arterial blood gases and serum calcium. Fluid restriction and treatment of seizures with phenobarbital are widely used therapies. Many available techniques for both diagnosis and treatment show wide variability in utilization. These results demonstrate a lack of a "standard" approach to the problem and suggest the need for well-designed clinical trials to assess efficacy and safety of treatment measures inconsistently applied to the asphyxiated, term newborn.