A Systematic Review of the Relationship Between Neonatal Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy and Long-Term Cognitive Outcomes: Where Do We Stand?

This study aims to systematically review the existing literature on long-term cognitive outcomes in neonates with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE). A thorough search of PubMed, MEDLINE, and Embase was conducted to find studies that satisfied the inclusion requirements. Rayyan (Qatar Computing Research Institute, Doha, Qatar) was utilized during the whole operation. Our results included seven studies with a total of 521 patients and 247 (47.4%) were females. All of the included participants were assessed for the incidence of cognitive functions following hypothermia therapy. Newborns with significant HIE are at high risk for neurodevelopmental complications even in the absence of magnetic resonance imagining (MRI) abnormalities, such as poor performance score and hearing-language score, functional status, delayed language skills, emotional processing, sensory movement, learning, and memory. Independent of motor deficits, participants with a history of HIE are susceptible to issues with cognition and executive function during late childhood and adolescence. It is crucial to keep an eye on their intellectual development after infancy since cognitive dysfunction and memory problems might manifest subtly or not at all in the early years of life, but they can cause problems in later childhood and adolescence. Long-term follow-up research is also required to ascertain whether the enhanced cognitive outcomes will continue throughout adolescence. Even in cases where overt neuromotor abnormalities are not evident, children with watershed injuries on brain MRIs should be closely monitored to evaluate cognitive function, particularly language development.