Serum cortisol concentrations during induced hypothermia for perinatal asphyxia are associated with neurological outcome in human infants.Birth asphyxia is a cause of neonatal death or adverse neurological sequelae.  We aimed to investigate if cortisol variations during therapeutic hypothermia are associated with neurodevelopmental outcome.  Among cases, we stratified patients according to neurological outcome at 18 months (group A - good; group B - adverse) and found that after 24 h of therapeutic hypothermia serum cortisol concentration was significantly lower in group A vs group B (28.7 ng/mL vs 344 ng/mL, *p = 0.01).  In group B serum, cortisol concentration decreased more gradually during therapeutic hypothermia.  We conclude that monitoring serum cortisol concentration during neonatal therapeutic hypothermia can add information to clinical evaluation of neonates with birth asphyxia; cortisol values after the first 24 h of hypothermia can be a biomarker associated with neurodevelopmental outcome at 18 months of age.
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