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Children’s Mercy nurses cool newborns to save brain cells |
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| News | |||
| Written by Arley Hoskin | |||
| Sunday, 24 May 2009 23:00 | |||
 Nurses wrap newborns in blankets to keep them warm, but babies who have lost oxygen during labor and delivery might benefit from a cooler temperature.A new technique at Children's Mercy Hospital lowers newborn's body temperature to prevent possible brain damage. Through the treatment, called therapeutic hypothermia, the baby is placed on a water-filled cooling pad. Babies who receive the therapy have their temperature lowered to 92 degrees and maintain this temperature for three days. The baby is connected to a machine that monitors his or her temperature. During the cooling, the baby's brain activity is monitored through electroencephalography. Physicians recommend this procedure for full-term newborns who have lost oxygen during labor and delivery. "It's really the first therapeutic treatment for babies who have had low oxygen and are at risk for brain injury," said Howard Kilbride, MD, Children's Mercy section chief for neonatology. Oxygen loss can occur during various situations, including a wrapped cord or a separated placenta. Children's Mercy has preformed the procedure on 17 babies since December. "All the nurses who care for those babies are pretty excited to be part of this," said Barb Haney, RNC, MSN, CPNP-AC, clinical nurse specialist. "Being able to introduce any new program is exciting for me," Haney said. A multidisciplinary team at Children's Mercy researched the technique for about nine months before they brought the treatment to Kansas City. "A group of us went to Michigan and observed babies being cooled," Kilbride said. "It's really the first therapeutic treatment for babies who have had low oxygen and are at risk for brain injury." Babies who receive the treatment are monitored for developmental benchmarks during their first year of life. Megan Bolch's 3-month-old son Luke received the treatment after his umbilical cord wrapped around his neck. "At 39 weeks I noticed at work that he was a little less active than normal," Bolch said. Doctors preformed an emergency Caesarean section at Research Medical Center and recommended that Luke receive the cooling treatment at Children's Mercy. The treatment must be started within the first six hours of life. "I really honestly did not have a lot of time to think about it," Bolch said. "I really just trusted the neonatologist." Luke faced the possibility of brain damage. Megan and her husband, Matt, decided to try the cooling treatment as a preventive measure. "I really didn't know much about the cooling therapy until a couple of days later when they were explaining it to me," Megan said. Mothers often have to stay in the hospital for a couple of days after the delivery and are separated from babies who undergo the cooling treatment during that time. "It was real, real difficult because I was separated from him," Megan said. Parents who are able to see their babies during the cooling treatment cannot hold the child because the parent's body heat will raise the baby's temperature. Haney said this is one of the most difficult aspects of the procedure. "It's hard for the parents," Haney said. Megan can attest to the difficulty. "It's kind of hard to see them cold and shivering," she said. After 72 hours on the cooling system, Children's Mercy staff slowly warms the baby to a normal body temperature. Once Luke's body temperature warmed back to normal he was placed in the Neonatal Intensive Care unit and received an MRI. Megan said she has not seen any negative side effects from Luke's loss of oxygen or the cooling treatment. "At this point everything looks fine," she said. "He's a typical 3-month-old." Haney said the neonatal unit has received positive feedback from parents whose newborns have undergone the treatment. "They are grateful that there is treatment. They are grateful that their babies are here," she said.
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