Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 March 2009
The first consideration must be an agreed-upon definition of asphyxia. We cannot determine outcome of a condition if some observers are referring to apples and others to pears. Asphyxia is a pathophysiological event comprising both hypoperfusion and hypoxia, and these events result in compromise at a cellular level with the production of metabolic acids. This can be due to a wide number of insults, but a complication of the birth process is the most important cause. Asphyxia is not like intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) or periventricular leukomalacia (PVL), as these are conditions that can be diagnosed with a reasonable degree of precision with imaging techniques.