{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,23]],"date-time":"2026-09-23T13:01:35Z","timestamp":1790168495473,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":36,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,31]],"date-time":"2025-07-31T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1753920000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Children"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Hypoxic\u2013ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) is a leading cause of severe neurological impairments in childhood. Therapeutic hypothermia (TH) is both safe and effective in neonates born at \u226536 weeks gestation with moderate to severe HIE. We aimed to evaluate short-term outcomes\u2014including brain injury detected on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)\u2014in infants born at 34\u201335 weeks of gestation drawing on our clinical experience with neonates under 36 weeks of gestational age (GA). Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, 20 preterm infants with a GA of 34 to 35 weeks and a matched cohort of 80 infants with a GA of \u226536 weeks who were diagnosed with moderate to severe HIE and underwent TH were included. Infants were matched in a 1:4 ratio based on the worst base deficit in blood gas and sex. Maternal and neonatal characteristics, brain MRI findings and short term outcomes were compared. Results: Infants with a GA of 34\u201335 weeks had a lower birth weight and a higher rate of caesarean delivery (both p &lt; 0.001). Apgar scores, sex, intubation rate in delivery room, blood gas pH, base deficit and lactate were comparable between the groups. Compared to infants born at \u226536 weeks of GA, preterm neonates were more likely to receive inotropes, had a longer time to achieve full enteral feeding, and experienced a longer hospital stay. The mortality rate was 10% in the 34\u201335 weeks GA group. Neuroimaging revealed injury in 66.7% of infants born at 34\u201335 weeks of gestation and in 58.8% of those born at \u226536 weeks (p = 0.56). Injury was observed across multiple brain regions, with white matter being the most frequently affected in the 34\u201335 weeks GA group. Thalamic and cerebellar abnormal signal intensity or diffusion restriction, punctate white matter lesions, and diffusion restriction in the corpus callosum and optic radiations were more frequently detected in infants born at 34\u201335 weeks of gestation. Conclusions: Our study contributes to the growing body of literature suggesting that TH may be feasible and tolerated in late preterm infants. Larger randomized controlled trials focused on this vulnerable population are necessary to establish clear guidelines regarding the safety and efficacy of TH in late preterm infants.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/children12081012","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,1]],"date-time":"2025-08-01T06:37:47Z","timestamp":1754030267000},"page":"1012","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Brain Injury Patterns and Short-TermOutcomes in Late Preterm Infants Treated with Hypothermia for Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"12","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0265-0229","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Aslihan","family":"Kose Cetinkaya","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Neonatology, Ankara Bilkent City Hospital, 06800 Ankara, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4643-7622","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Fatma Nur","family":"Sari","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Neonatology, Ankara Bilkent City Hospital, University of Health Sciences, 06800 Ankara, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9412-6733","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Avni Merter","family":"Keceli","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatric Radiology, Ankara Bilkent City Hospital, 06800 Ankara, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0055-8277","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mustafa Senol","family":"Akin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Neonatology, Ankara Bilkent City Hospital, 06800 Ankara, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6304-4073","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Seyma","family":"Butun Turk","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Neonatology, Ankara Bilkent City Hospital, 06800 Ankara, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7846-7634","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Omer","family":"Ertekin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Neonatology, Ankara Bilkent City Hospital, 06800 Ankara, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8956-0917","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Evrim","family":"Alyamac Dizdar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Neonatology, Ankara Bilkent City Hospital, University of Health Sciences, 06800 Ankara, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,31]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"329","DOI":"10.1016\/j.earlhumdev.2010.05.010","article-title":"Epidemiology of neonatal encephalopathy and hypoxicischaemic encephalopathy","volume":"86","author":"Kurinczuk","year":"2010","journal-title":"Early Hum. 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