Neonatal encephalopathy: An inadequate term for hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy

This Point of View article addresses neonatal encephalopathy (NE) presumably caused by hypoxiaischemia and the terminology currently in wide use for this disorder. The nonspecific term NE is commonly utilized for those infants with the clinical and imaging characteristics of neonatal hypoxicischemic encephalopathy (HIE). Multiple magnetic resonance imaging studies of term infants with the clinical setting of presumed hypoxiaischemia near the time of delivery have delineated a topography of lesions highly correlated with that defined by human neuropathology and by animal models, including primate models, of hypoxiaischemia. These imaging findings, coupled with clinical features consistent with perinatal hypoxicischemic insult(s), warrant the specific designation of neonatal HIE. Ann Neurol 2012;72:156166