Professor Andrew Whitelaw

Professor Andrew Whitelaw
MB B Chir, MD., M.R.C.P., F.R.C.P.C.H.

Emeritus Professor

Area of research

Mechanisms and treatment of neonatal brain injury

Level D,
St Michael's Hospital, Southwell Street BS2 8EG
(See a map)

Tel. +44 (0) 117 968 1236
andrew.whitelaw@
bristol.ac.uk

Research summary

Intraventricular haemorrhage (IVH) and hydrocephalus in premature babies. Ventricular lavage reduces brain injury and disability in posthaemorrhagic hydrocephalus by to remove toxic substances released by old blood (eg free iron and pro-inflammatory cytokines.

Hypoxic-ischaemic injury in babies born at full term. Total body hypothermia for neonatal hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy improved the odds of surviving without neurological impairment at 18 months. Since 1998 the 2 Bristol neonatal intensive care units have been pioneers in therapeutic cooling for babies.

Recent publications

De Vries, LS, Groenendaal, F, Liem, KD, Heep, A, Brouwer, AJ, Verlaat, EV', Benavente-Fernández, I, Van Straaten, HL, Van Wezel-Meijler, G, Smit, BJ, Govaert, P, Woerdeman, PA & Whitelaw, A, 2019, ‘Treatment thresholds for intervention in posthaemorrhagic ventricular dilation: A randomised controlled trial’. Archives of Disease in Childhood: Fetal and Neonatal Edition, vol 104., pp. F70-F75
Luyt, K, Jary, S, Lea, C, Young, GJ, Odd, D, Miller, H, Kmita, G, Williams, C, Blair, PS, Fernández, AM, Hollingworth, W, Morgan, M, Smith-Collins, A, Thai, NJ, Walker-Cox, S, Aquilina, K, Pople, I & Whitelaw, A, 2019, ‘Ten-year follow-up of a randomised trial of drainage, irrigation and fibrinolytic therapy (DRIFT) in infants with post-haemorrhagic ventricular dilatation’. Health Technology Assessment, vol 23., pp. 1-116

Professor Andrew Whitelaw