Hypoxic Ischemic

Encephalopathy
By Jessica Tipton
*some of the information showcased in this
presentation comes from outside sources

Overview

Presented By: Jessica Tipton

Mentor: Valerie Gray
Clear Lake Regional Medical Center
Neonatal Intensive Care Nursing
Independent Study Mentorship- Fall 2015
ISM Teacher: Mrs.Click
Website: www.jessicatiptonism.weebly.com

What is Independent Study

Mentorship (ISM)
Independent Study Mentorship is a collegiate level course
created for students to gain professional experience with
a willing mentor in a specific career field. The students,
with the help of their mentor, teacher, and personal
research, will create a project topic to showcase what they
have learned through the study. This course is a semester
class but can be taken dual semesters for credit towards
DAP. ISM also requires an online portfolio, activity logs,
and journal entries to keep track of mentoring shifts, as
well as different activities pertaining to the Independent
Study.

Hypoxic Ischemic
Encephalopathy
I was working in the hospital when a baby came in with
H.I.E and was she was so venerable. I asked my mentor if
her prognosis was good, and her reply was, Since there is
not many cures, she will most likely pass soon. This really
stuck in my head and I was determined to find more
information about this horrible disease.

Details of H.I.E
Brain injury due to the lack of oxygen and blood flow to
vital organs,
Causes the brain to swell from seizers
Babies can become injured during intrapartum or
develop H.I.E during postpartum
H.I.E is not a genetic codition

General Symptoms

Poor muscle tone

Excessive amount of acid is in blood
Pale skin color with a blue tone
Excessive oxygen deprivation can result in the loss of
functioning grey and/or white brain matter

Survey
84% of my survey population have not heard of H.I.E
11 of the 25 participants were uneducated on the safe
amount of time for birth
Around 54% of the participants believed they knew what a
cooling blanket is/does
After my survey, I conclude that the majority of the
population is unaware neonatal illnesses, the conditions that
are caused by these illnesses, and the graphic details of them

Three Tiers of H.I.E

The Three Tiers of H.I.E include Mild, Moderately Severe,
and Severe
The baby can get progressively worse as times goes on
The baby can start at any tier and fluctuate through the
tiers
It is common for the baby to begin in the mild tier then
abruptly move to severe

Mild H.I.E.
Can resolved itself within 24 hours of having the loss of
breathing
Symptoms:
Excessive crying
Irritability
Poor feedings

Moderately Severe H.I.E

Can resolve itself within 1-2 weeks with medical
assistance, and pose a good outcome
Symptoms:
Loss of sucking, swallowing and grasping reflexes
Periods of apnea
Series of seizers within 24 hours after birth
Loss of deep tissue reflexes
Significant hypertonia

Severe H.I.E
Difficult to impossible recovery process, may never fully regain normal
brain function
Severe H.I.E. is typical in babies that develop the illness by postpartum
Symptoms:
Coma
Irregular Breathing
No sucking, swallowing, or grasping reflexes
Dilated pupils
Irregular vital signs
Loss of deep tendon reflexes

Grey and White Brain Matter

Grey Brain Matter

Outer layer of the brain

Causes less permeant and severe affects of H.I.E
White Brain Matter
Inner layer of the brain
Closest to the brain stem
Cause more permeant and severe affects of H.I.E

Resulting Impairments

Loss of consciousness
Slow attention span and processing speed
Memory impairments
Language impairments
Antons syndrome
Balints syndrome
Personality, mood, and behavioral changes
Excessive oxygen deprivation can result in the loss of
functioning grey and/or white brain matter

Cures
All of the cures for H.I.E are prevention methods to
either stop further development of the illness or
preventing it from ever occurring from a separate illness.
Cooling blankets/hat- cool down the babies overall temperature so
the brain doesnt swell

Medications to prevent seizures

Mechanical ventilation

Cooling Blanket/Hat
Case study proved that the cooling blanket helped avoid
death and preventing further progression of the illness
Range of temperature for cooling sessions are 32-34
degrees Celsius
Babies are only put on the cooling blanket for around 24
hours

Destructiveness
H.I.E accounts for 23% of all neonatal deaths worldwide
Leading cause of neonatal fatalities and severe handicaps
in America
Close to 60% of all babies who have H.I.E pass away
Close to 25% of all H.I.E survivors develop severe
handicaps

Conclusion
As we can see through my presentation, H.I.E is a difficult
illness to prevent, cure, and manage. The illness affects
the brain by causing it to swell when oxygen is depleted.
This can cause permanent damages in the brain, and
might prevent normal brain development and function.
As a community, we need to raise awareness about this
condition in order to increase research to stop these cases
from creating any more bad outcomes. We also need to
provide underdeveloped countries with the tools to
combat the destructiveness of H.I.E

Thank You
I would like to thank my mentor for helping me learn
about the incredible career of nursing.
I would like to thank my parents for allowing me to
achieve all of my dreams.
I would like to thank Mrs. Click for guiding me through
my journey of deciding my career path.
I would like to thank the many people who came out to
listen to my presentation.