Consequences of occupational asthma

Abstract

Neonatal encephalopathy is an important clinical problem * In this study the incidence of moderate or severe encephalopathy was found to be 3-75 per 1000 live term births, with a case fatality of almost 8% * Intrapartum hypoxia, determined with tradi- tional criteria, was not the cause of neonatal encephalopathy in most cases * Signs of intrapartum fetal distress may be the first signs of pre-existing neurological abnor- mality, and events occurring in the antepartum period are an important cause of neurological abnormality in newborn infants * These results have implications for obste- tricians, paediatricians, and legal practitioners insult that lead to neonatal encephalopathy we therefore need (a) more specific markers of intrapartum insult than those currently used, (b) better antepartum and preconceptional history to reduce the problem of non-random missing data and unknown exposures, (c) a reliable assessment of the state of the fetus and its reserve towards the end of the antepartum period before starting labour, and (d) larger population based studies that may be analysed with methodologies such as path analysis3' so that hypotheses based on complex causal chains can be investigated.We thank staff in the study hospitals and all metropolitan and regional paediatricians for their cooperation.In particular we thank