2020 Guidelines on Neonatal Resuscitation: What Can Be of Interest to an Engineer?

Worldwide, perinatal asphyxia accounts for about a quarter of 2.5 million neonatal deaths. In Europe, about 5000–20,000 neonates are born with birth asphyxia annually. Approximately half of them do not survive or have neurodevelopmental sequela. Appropriate care at birth remains one of the crucial interventions in reducing neonatal mortality and morbidity. Guidelines on neonatal resuscitation are updated every 5 years. The objective of this chapter is to present the 2020 edition of the American Heart Association guidelines, update the evidence behind each of the recommendations, and highlight the gaps in knowledge. New technologies such as pulse oximetry, electrocardiogram, and end tidal carbon dioxide detector are now standard of care in neonatal resuscitation. Other technologies such as respiratory function monitoring, near-infrared spectroscopy, and electroencephalogram have been assessed, and their impact on the relevant neonatal outcomes needs to be confirmed in future trials. New technologies such as high-fidelity manikins have also been successfully developed with the purpose of improving education and training of healthcare staff. A healthy collaboration between scientific medical engineers and healthcare researchers may significantly improve antenatal, perinatal, and postnatal monitoring of the fetuses and neonates, as well as aid in enhancing both technical and nontechnical skills of healthcare staff.