Abstract
Children with sequelae of perinatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) occasionally suffer from cytokine-related disease.We investigated 12 children with perinatal HIE sequelae, who died in childhood, concerning (1) the incidence of cytokine-related disease as the cause of death, and (2) the characteristics of the cytokine-related disease. Six (50%) of the 12 patients died from cytokine-related disease: two had virus-associated hemophagocytic syndrome (VAHS); one had acute encephalopathy; one had systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS); and two had severe pneumonia/acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). These six patients presented with increased liver transaminase, LDH, and CK, and decreased platelet count and albumin. This study shows the high incidence of cytokinerelated disease as the cause of death in children with perinatal HIE sequelae. Further investigation is needed to clarify the pathogenesis of this disease.
