Therapeutic hypothermia in a neonate with perinatal asphyxia and transposition of the great arteries.

Overview

Despite advances in surgical techniques and perioperative management, many newborns with complex congenital heart disease (CCHD) continue to have adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes. With increasing survival of these infants, neuroprotective therapies at various time points, should be considered as an important area of investigation. As some brain injury has been shown to precede surgery, the preoperative period may be a key time to direct protective therapy. Selective hypothermia is used as a neuroprotective therapy for neonates with moderate-to-severe hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. We report a case of an asphyxiated term newborn with severe neonatal encephalopathy following neonatal resuscitation and subsequently found to have transposition of the great arteries with a relatively intact atrial septum, who underwent CoolCap(®) therapy following emergent balloon atrial septostomy. Brain injury observed on magnetic resonance imaging preoperatively after cooling was focal and did not extend following neonatal arterial switch operation. The patient's neurologic outcome appeared to be favorable at hospital discharge and at age 6 months. This case presents a therapeutic intervention which may represent a valuable neuroprotective strategy to limit brain injury, and therefore, improve neurodevelopmental outcomes in neonates with CCHD with perinatal asphyxia.