Chandigarh:
A Single Theme Workshop on Neonatal Neurological Disorders will be held at the Advanced Pediatric Centre, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), on 4th and 5th April 2026. The workshop will be conducted by the Newborn Unit, Department of Pediatrics.
The workshop will be inaugurated by Prof. Vivek Lal, Director of PGIMER. The Chairperson of the Organizing Committee is Prof. Praveen Kumar; the Organizing Secretary is Prof. Sourabh Dutta; and the Joint Organizing Secretary is Dr. Jogender Kumar. Other faculty members include Dr. Naveen Jain from Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum) and Dr. Naveen Gupta from New Delhi; Prof. Deepak Chawla, Prof. Suksham Jain, and Dr. Supreet Khurana from Government Medical College, Chandigarh; and Dr. Sajan Saini, Dr. Bijaylakshmi Behera, Prof. Naveen Sankhyan, Dr. Arushi Saini, Dr. Anupriya Kaur, Dr. Chirag Ahuja, and Dr. Bharti Sharma from PGIMER.
Neonatal neurological disorders include diseases affecting the nervous system of newborns, primarily the brain. There was a time when the primary focus of newborn specialists was to save the lives of premature babies or full-term babies born with asphyxia. With significantly improved survival rates today compared to a few decades ago, the focus has shifted from mere survival to ensuring “neurologically intact survival.”
“Neurologically intact survival” refers to surviving into childhood and adulthood as a mentally and physically normal individual who can function independently and contribute to society. There is little value in expending enormous family and societal resources to save a newborn baby if the child grows up with severe disabilities such as intellectual impairment or cerebral palsy and remains dependent on caregivers throughout life.
A systematic analysis of data from low- and middle-income countries published in 2021, including India, reported that the average survival rate of babies weighing less than 1 kg was about 30%, with approximately 20% of survivors having abnormal neurological development. Data from major centers in India suggest that very to moderately premature babies have nearly five times the risk of brain disorders compared to full-term babies, and about 35–40% of babies weighing less than 1 kg either die or develop serious brain impairments.
Newborns are particularly vulnerable to neurological disorders because their brains are delicate. In premature babies, the brain is prone to internal bleeding due to fragile blood vessels, white matter damage due to inadequate blood supply or inflammation, and impaired growth and development. In full-term babies, brain injury may occur due to birth asphyxia, metabolic disturbances, or severe jaundice.
Significant advances have been made in the prevention, diagnosis, management, and follow-up of neonatal brain disorders in recent years. These include therapeutic hypothermia (external cooling of the brain) for selected asphyxiated babies, newer anti-epileptic medications, advanced ultrasound and MRI techniques, bedside EEG monitoring, improved recognition and prevention of factors leading to bleeding and white matter injury, diagnosis of complex metabolic disorders using sophisticated laboratory techniques, optimization of antibiotic duration for brain infections, and establishment of standardized follow-up protocols for early detection of cerebral palsy. Together, these advances have contributed to improved neurologically intact survival. Strategies to protect the vulnerable brains of premature babies begin well before birth and continue for months afterward.
Keeping these considerations in mind, the Neonatal Unit of the Department of Pediatrics has organized this two-day workshop dedicated entirely to neonatal brain disorders. The workshop will be highly practical and hands-on. It will include three practical workstations focusing on therapeutic hypothermia, EEG recording, and neuroimaging (ultrasound and MRI). There will also be six real-life clinical case discussions highlighting the management of newborns with serious neurological conditions.
The participants are pediatric specialists with a special interest in neonatal care. Lectures on the first day will cover the basics of neurological examination in newborns (which differs significantly from that in adults and older children), an approach to the stuporous neonate, and the diagnosis and management of brain injury due to asphyxia, intracranial hemorrhage, and white matter injury. The second day will include lectures on the management of neonatal seizures, hydrocephalus, preventive strategies, neonatal stroke, brain injury due to hypoglycemia or severe jaundice, and long-term follow-up.
Simple measures that the general public can adopt to promote neurologically intact survival include regular antenatal check-ups, adherence to medical advice during pregnancy, exclusive breastfeeding, prevention of infections, and seeking immediate medical attention if a newborn shows abnormal movements, lethargy or severe jaundice.
