Suboptimal care and metabolic acidemia is associated with neonatal encephalopathy but not with neonatal seizures alone: a population-based clinical audit.
To determine the incidence of moderate to severe neonatal encephalopathy (NE) and neonatal seizures without encephalopathy, and the association with metabolic acidemia. Secondly, to investigate the occurrence of suboptimal intrapartum care and its impact on neonatal outcome.
Clinical audit.
Two university hospitals in Sweden.
Neonates =34 weeks with moderate or severe NE and neonatal seizures alone, i.e. without encephalopathy, from a population of 71 189 births, where umbilical blood gases were routinely analyzed.
Neonates were categorized depending on the presence of metabolic acidemia at birth by umbilical artery pH