Elevated S100B urine levels predict seizures in infants complicated by perinatal asphyxia and undergoing therapeutic hypothermia.

OBJECTIVES: Seizures (SZ) are one of the main complications occurring in infants undergoing therapeutic hypothermia (TH) due to perinatal asphyxia (PA) and hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE). Phenobarbital (PB) is the first-line therapeutic strategy, although data on its potential side-effects need elucidation. We investigated whether: i) PB administration in PA-HIE TH-treated infants affects S100B urine levels, and ii) S100B could be a reliable early predictor of SZ. METHODS: We performed a prospective case-control study in 88 PA-HIE TH infants, complicated (n=44) or not (n=44) by SZ requiring PB treatment. S100B urine levels were measured at 11 predetermined monitoring time-points from first void up to 96-h from birth. Standard-of-care monitoring parameters were also recorded. RESULTS: S100B significantly increased in the first 24-h independently from HIE severity in the cases who later developed SZ and requested PB treatment. ROC curve analysis showed that S100B, as SZ predictor, at a cut-off of 2.78 µg/L achieved a sensitivity/specificity of 63 and 84 %, positive/negative predictive values of 83 and 64 %. CONCLUSIONS: The present results offer additional support to the usefulness of S100B as a trustable diagnostic tool in the clinical daily monitoring of therapeutic and pharmacological procedures in infants complicated by PA-HIE.

Initial lactate levels linked to oliguria in term neonates with perinatal asphyxia.

BACKGROUND: Oliguria is a sign of impaired kidney function and has been shown to be an early predictor of adverse prognoses in patients with acute kidney injury. The relationship between urine output (UOP) and early lactate levels in neonates with perinatal asphyxia (PA) has not been extensively explored. This study aimed to investigate the link between oliguria during the first 24 h of life and early lactate levels in neonates with PA. METHODS: The medical records of 293 term neonates with asphyxia from 9216 hospitalized newborns were retrospectively analyzed, including 127 cases designated as the oliguria group and 166 cases as controls. Peripheral arterial blood gas after PA and UOP within 24 h after birth were analyzed. Logistic regression analyses and receiver operating characteristic curve analysis were conducted. RESULTS: Oliguria occurred in 43.34% of neonates with PA. The median UOP of the oliguria and control groups were 0.65 and 1.46 mL/kg/h, respectively. Elevated lactate levels after PA are an independent risk factor for oliguria in the following 24 h (p = 0.01; OR: 1.19; 95%CI: 1.04-1.35) and show a moderate discriminatory power for oliguria (AUC = 0.62). Using a cut off value of 8.15 mmol/L, the positive and negative predictive values and the specificity were 59.34%, 63.86%, and 78.30%, respectively. CONCLUSION: Neonates with elevated lactate levels after PA face a risk of oliguria in the following 24 h. Based on early elevated lactate levels after resuscitation, especially ≥ 8.15 mmol/L, meticulously monitoring UOP will allow this vulnerable population to receive early, tailored fluid management and medical intervention.