Evaluation for the etiology of neonatal encephalopathy and the diagnosis of FIRS

Abstract

A common disorder managed in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is neonatal encephalopathy (NE). There are multiple causes of NE, including hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) and the fetal inflammatory response syndrome (FIRS). It is important to ascertain the specific cause of NE in an affected child, as it may affect the clinical management and will assist in prognostication. This paper discusses the background of inflammatory damage to the fetal brain, the history of FIRS as a clinical diagnosis, the characteristics of infants with FIRS, and methods to evaluate the etiology of NE.

Keywords: Chorioamnionitis; Fetal inflammatory response syndrome; Funisitis; Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy; Neonatal encephalopathy.