Post-asphyxial encephalopathy in a preterm infant.

An infant born at 31 weeks gestation had abnormalities consistent with post-asphyxial encephalopathy, including decelerated fetal heart-rate, cord-blood acidosis and depressed Apgar scores. Clinical signs included respiratory depression, hypotonia and severe seizures. When seen at six months corrected age, however, he had no abnormal neurological signs. The authors conclude that asphyxia in preterm infants may result in clinical abnormalities similar to those in mature infants, but that the abnormalities are separate from haemorrhage and ischaemia.