Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38902453›Full record

ArticlePediatric research2025

Consensus definition and diagnostic criteria for neonatal encephalopathy-study protocol for a real-time modified delphi study.

Aoife Branagan, Tim Hurley, Fiona Quirke, Declan Devane, Petek E Taneri, Nadia Badawi, Bharati Sinha, Cynthia Bearer, Frank H Bloomfield, Sonia L Bonifacio and 22 more

Abstract read
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In one paragraph

Article in Pediatric research, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
14citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

14 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
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  9. Observational
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

32 authors.

Aoife BranaganDiscipline of Paediatrics, Trinity College Dublin, the University of Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
Tim HurleyDiscipline of Paediatrics, Trinity College Dublin, the University of Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
Fiona QuirkeHealth Research Board Neonatal Encephalopathy PhD Training Network (NEPTuNE), Dublin, Ireland.
Declan DevaneHealth Research Board-Trials Methodology, Research Network (HRB-TMRN), University of Galway, Galway, Ireland.
Petek E TaneriHealth Research Board-Trials Methodology, Research Network (HRB-TMRN), University of Galway, Galway, Ireland.
Nadia BadawiCerebral Palsy Alliance Research Institute, Specialty of Child & Adolescent Health, Sydney Medical School, Faculty of Medicine & Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Bharati SinhaDepartment of Pediatrics, Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA.
Cynthia BearerDivision of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital, Cleveland, OH, USA.
Frank H BloomfieldLiggins Institute, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
Sonia L BonifacioDivision of Neonatal and Developmental Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA, USA.
Geraldine BoylanINFANT Research Centre, Cork, Ireland.
Suzann K CampbellDepartment of Physical Therapy, College of Applied Health Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
Lina ChalakDivision of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA.
Mary D'AltonDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
Linda S deVriesDepartment of Neonatology, Wilhelmina Children's Hospital, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
Mohamed El DibDivision of Newborn Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Donna M FerrieroDepartments of Neurology and Pediatrics, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Chris GaleNeonatal Medicine, School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Chelsea and Westminster Campus, Imperial College London, London, UK.
Pierre GressensUniversité Paris Cité, Inserm, NeuroDiderot, 75019, Paris, France.
Alistair J GunnDepartments of Physiology and Paediatrics, School of Medical Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
Sarah KayPEEPS-HIE, Manchester, UK.
Beccy MaesoJames Lind Alliance, School of Healthcare Enterprise and Innovation, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.
Sarah B MulkeyChildren's National Hospital, Washington, DC, USA.
Deirdre M MurrayINFANT Research Centre, Cork, Ireland.
Karin B NelsonNational Institutes of Health, National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke, Bethesda, MD, USA.
Tetyana H NesterenkoDepartment of Neonatology, Cleveland Clinic Children's Hospital, Cleveland, OH, USA.
Betsy PilonHope for HIE, West Bloomfield, MI, USA.
Nicola J RobertsonInstitute for Women's Health, University College London, London, UK.
Karen WalkerDepartment of Newborn Care, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, Local Health District, Sydney, Australia.
Courtney J WusthoffDivision of Child Neurology, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, USA.
Eleanor J MolloyDiscipline of Paediatrics, Trinity College Dublin, the University of Dublin, Dublin, Ireland. Eleanor.molloy@tcd.ie.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6798-2158
Steering Group for DEFiNE (Definition of Neonatal Encephalopathy)

Funding

Project IV- Cerebellar Function After Hypoxia-Ischemia and Precipitating InflammationP01HD085928 · NICHD · UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND BALTIMORE · PI BEARER, CYNTHIA FRANCES · 2016 to 2020
$6.3M
Medical Research Council MR/V036866/1NICHD NIH HHS P01 HD085928
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

background'Neonatal encephalopathy' (NE) describes a group of conditions in term infants presenting in the earliest days after birth with disturbed neurological function of cerebral origin. NE is aetiologically heterogenous; one cause is peripartum hypoxic ischaemia. Lack of uniformity in the terminology used to describe NE and its diagnostic criteria creates difficulty in the design and interpretation of research and complicates communication with families. The DEFINE study aims to use a modified Delphi approach to form a consensus definition for NE, and diagnostic criteria.

methodsDirected by an international steering group, we will conduct a systematic review of the literature to assess the terminology used in trials of NE, and with their guidance perform an online Real-time Delphi survey to develop a consensus diagnosis and criteria for NE. A consensus meeting will be held to agree on the final terminology and criteria, and the outcome disseminated widely. DISCUSSION: A clear and consistent consensus-based definition of NE and criteria for its diagnosis, achieved by use of a modified Delphi technique, will enable more comparability of research results and improved communication among professionals and with families. IMPACT: The terms Neonatal Encephalopathy and Hypoxic Ischaemic Encephalopathy tend to be used interchangeably in the literature to describe a term newborn with signs of encephalopathy at birth. This creates difficulty in communication with families and carers, and between medical professionals and researchers, as well as creating difficulty with performance of research. The DEFINE project will use a Real-time Delphi approach to create a consensus definition for the term 'Neonatal Encephalopathy'. A definition formed by this consensus approach will be accepted and utilised by the neonatal community to improve research, outcomes, and parental experience.

Indexed as

Brain DiseasesDelphi TechniqueHypoxia-Ischemia, BrainInfant, Newborn, DiseasesConsensus Statements as TopicHumansInfant, NewbornResearch DesignSystematic Reviews as TopicTerminology as Topic

Identifiers

PMID38902453
PMCPMC11798824

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.