Long-term neuroprotective effects of allopurinol after moderate perinatal asphyxia: follow-up of two randomised controlled trials
ADC Fetal & Neonatal Edition, 05/01/2012
Kaandorp JJ et al. – The reported data may suggest a (neuro)protective effect of neonatal allopurinol treatment in moderately asphyxiated infants.
Methods- Follow-up of 4 to 8 years of two earlier performed randomised controlled trials.
- Fifty-four term infants were included when suffering from moderate-to-severe birth asphyxia in two previously performed trials.
- Infants either received 40 mg/kg allopurinol (with an interval of 12 h) starting within 4 h after birth or served as controls.
- The mean age during follow-up (n=23) was 5 years and 5 months (SD 1 year and 2 months).
- There were no differences in long-term outcome between the allopurinol-treated infants and controls.
- However, subgroup analysis of the moderately asphyxiated group showed significantly less severe adverse outcome in the allopurinol-treated infants compared with controls (25% vs 65%; RR 0.40, 95%CI 0.17 to 0.94).



