Low neonatal cerebral oxygen delivery is associated with brain injury in preterm infants.

Neonatal cerebral oxygen delivery was estimated in 93 preterm infants (gestational age < 34 weeks) who survived the neonatal period. Of these, 26 had developed neurological handicap at follow-up 1.7-4.6 years later. Neonatal cerebral oxygen delivery was dependent on gestational age, and was also related to the degree of intra-uterine growth retardation, carbon dioxide tension, and blood glucose concentration. Lower oxygen delivery was observed in infants who developed germinal layer haemorrhage or periventricular leucomalacia compared with infants with normal brains. However, as no information on cerebral metabolic demand or oxygen extraction is available, it is unclear whether decreased oxygen delivery is a contributing factor to brain damage or whether it is a marker of existing injury.