Clinical and Ultrasound Aspects of Neonatal Hypoxia Ischaemia at the Regional University Hospital of Ouahigouya

Abstract

Neonatal hypoxia ischaemia (HI) is the third leading cause of neonatal death worldwide. Medical imaging plays an important role in its diagnosis and monitoring. We aim to analyze the clinical and ultrasound aspects of neonatal HI at the Ouahigouya Regional University Hospital (CHUR/OHG). This was an analytical cross-sectional study with retrospective data collection covering the period from 1 January 2017 to 30 April 2019. During the study period, neonatal HI for 20.12% of pediatric admissions, of which 33.7% underwent Transfontanellar ultrasound (7.31% of all ultrasounds). The sex ratio was 1.6. The majority (85.81%) of children were born at term. According to the Sarnat classification, mild distress predominated (66.89%), followed by moderate distress (27.03%) and severe distress (6.08%). Transfontanellar ultrasound was abnormal in 71 patients (47.97%). Typical brain lesions found were hemorrhage (27.70%), anoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy (18.24%), and periventricular leukomalacia (2.70%). The outcome was normal in 81.08% of patients, with a mortality rate of 6.08%. In view of the seriousness of neonatal brain damage, it is necessary to improve diagnostic methods (MRI) and treatment (hypothermia) to limit the sequelae.