Whole-Body Hypothermia for Neonatal Encephalopathy in Preterm Infants Born at 33 to 35 Weeks’ Gestation is a landmark trial conducted by the NICHD Neonatal Research Network, which includes C. Michael Cotten, MD, and William Malcolm, MD. The study provides evidence that initiating hypothermia treatment within 6 hours of birth does not reduce the rates of death or disability at 18 to 22 months of corrected age in infants born between 33 and 35 weeks of gestation. Duke enrolled two babies.
This research is significant because it contradicts several earlier clinical trials that established hypothermia as the standard care for infants born at 36 weeks or later, a practice that has been in place for approximately 15 years.