Encephalopathy in newborns is a pathology of the brain that occurs in the perinatal period. In other words, it is cerebral dysfunction, a certain collective diagnosis, which gives a general description of the disorders that occurs in the work of the central nervous system (CNS) of babies in the first year of life.
The manifestation of neonatal encephalopathy
To put this diagnosis, doctors assess possible deviations in the reactions and reflexes of children. The following syndromes (complexes of symptoms) can be observed:
- Motor disorders in the form of hypertonic or hypotonic muscle. The neurologist should be able to distinguish this syndrome from physical hypertonia. This is facilitated by his ability to determine the norm of tonus, characteristic of a certain age.
- Increase of neural-reflex excitability, diagnosed on the basis of information on the quality of a child's sleep, ease of falling asleep, possible shaking of hands, legs and chin.
- Oppression of the nervous system, an indicator of what is considered a retardation and sluggishness of children. In this case, hypotension is expressed, the asymmetry of the face and body due to the different tone of the muscles. The depression of the central nervous system is also indicated by poor suckling of babies and frequent choking during swallowing.
- Intracranial hypertension , which can be complicated by dropsy of the brain, requiring prompt resolution. Alarms are: an increase in the circumference of the baby's head, bulging and / or an increase in the large fontanel, the divergence of the cranial sutures.
- Convulsions, which are important to determine along with the equivalent of convulsions (hiccough, regurgitation, automatic chewing movements, increased salivation), which can be indicators of CNS damage.
Causes of encephalopathy in newborns
This disease occurs in about 4 children out of 100. The reasons can be as follows:
- complications and pathologies of pregnancy, including the threat of its interruption;
- birth trauma and complicated delivery;
- metabolic disease;
- infection of the mother during pregnancy.
The most common cause of central nervous system damage is hypoxia, resulting in hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy of newborns - a consequence of insufficiency of blood supply to the baby's brain before birth, during childbirth and in the first month after birth, manifested as in minor neurological abnormalities and in more serious conditions, for example, in the form of infantile cerebral palsy.
Treatment of encephalopathy in infants should be complex and depends on the therapy of the observed symptoms. Encephalopathy in an infant is cured in a quarter of cases, if detected on time.