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©The Author(s) 2026. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Methodol. Mar 20, 2026; 16(1): 110342
Published online Mar 20, 2026. doi: 10.5662/wjm.v16.i1.110342
Published online Mar 20, 2026. doi: 10.5662/wjm.v16.i1.110342
Update on hypoxic-ischemic brain injury: Prognosis and management
Ajaya Kumar Ayyappan Unnithan, Department of Neurosurgery, Azeezia Medical College Hospital, Kollam 691537, Kerala, India
Author contributions: Unnithan AKA conceptualized, wrote, and revised the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Ajaya Kumar Ayyappan Unnithan, Assistant Professor, Department of Neurosurgery, Azeezia Medical College Hospital, Meeyannoor P.O., Kollam 691537, Kerala, India. drajayakumara@gmail.com
Received: June 5, 2025
Revised: June 28, 2025
Accepted: September 22, 2025
Published online: March 20, 2026
Processing time: 251 Days and 3.8 Hours
Revised: June 28, 2025
Accepted: September 22, 2025
Published online: March 20, 2026
Processing time: 251 Days and 3.8 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: The indicators of good prognosis in hypoxic-ischemic brain injury (HIBI) are: early return of continuous and reactive electroencephalogram, low blood levels of neuron-specific enolase, absence of diffusion changes in brain magnetic resonance imaging, good functional status, and Coma Remission Scale score ≥ 8. Treatment consists of maintaining systemic perfusion, treating the underlying cause of the hypoxia, and preventing ongoing brain injury. HIBI is a major cause of mortality, and the outcome after survival may vary from persistent vegetative state to neuropsychiatric disabilities.