Whole body hypothermia (33.5°C for 72 hours) reduces the risk of death or disability in infants with moderate or severe hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy. This is the finding of a randomised trial in 239 infants who were admitted to hospital at or before six hours of age with severe acidosis or perinatal complications, resuscitation at birth, and who had moderate or severe encephalopathy. Other studies have used selective head cooling whereas this study used whole body cooling.

Small surveys are not rocket science, but here is something to keep in mind when you are next on an ego trip. A survey of 100 patients on the internal medicine and neurology services at a large teaching hospital in Brooklyn, NY, found that of patients initially tested, 15% correctly stated their physician’s name and 21% correctly stated their nurse’s name. After being given the name of their physician in writing and being asked to remember …