Background :Hypoxic Ischaemic Encephalopathy (HIE)secondary to perinatal ischemia is an important cause of brain damage in newborn .Hence all efforts to prevent hypoxic damage is a must along with the attempts to correct the associated abnormalities .Hypoxia has long been known to trigger the release of Erythropoietin which stimulates the production of red blood cells in order to increase the oxygen carrying capacity of blood. It possesses positive neuroprotective, neuro-regenerative and anti-inflammatory effects in asphyxiated newborns Hence the interest in the role of Erythropoietin in HIE for a long time .Yet Erythropoietin has not been standardized as therapeutic guideline in the management of HIE. In addition the role of Hypothermia has also evolved and is now the only available and standard option . But this choice is till today not available for the majority of neonates due to financial constraints and the dearth of proper Therapeutic Hypothermia facilities. So this study was done to determine whether Erythropoietin is a boon or not for Neonatal HIE.

Objective: Assessment of Role of Erythropoietin in prevention of HIE in newborn.

Data Sources : A detailed search in PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane databases for studies involving the role of Erythropoietin in HIE in newborn infants was done till 08.11.23. Ultimately, 11 studies were selected .

Study selection: Only those studies were included which were delivered in tertiary care centres and were administered Erythropoietin at or few hours after birth.Three studies were Randomized control trials with the recent one in 2023 with an updated Meta Analysis, three were from the HEAL Trial and five were reviews .First one was done in 2019(S.Arabia,canada and India),2021(2 studies China) and 2022(2 studies one from Italy and One from Korea).

Data Extraction :Eleven studies were assessed and various data noted for each of these studies like Author ,Year of study, type of study ,place of study, number of participants involved and their conclusions ,participants, gestation age, birthweight, EPO administration method (dose, frequency and course), hypothermia therapy given or not. Subsequently the outcome was noted.

Conclusions : HIE in newborn is a serious problem and needs to be prevented at all costs. Further the problem varies as the gestational age varies. Epo has a role to play as evidenced by the innumerable studies done on the term and preterm babies . Further research on the preventive role in prematurity needs to be investigated.