Original article
The effect of cooling on blood gas tensions in newborn infants

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-3476(70)80364-XGet rights and content

Gas tensions, pH, and glucose concentrations of aortic blood were measured in 2 groups of normal newborn infants. The infants in one group were chilled at birth but were dressed by one hour of age; those of the other group were kept warm from birth by means of infra-red heaters. There were no significant differences in pH, PCO2, or glucose concentrations in the infants of the 2 groups. PaO2 was significantly lower in the infants of the cold group at 20 minutes and one hour of age, but rose to a level similar to that of the infants in the warm group at 4 hours. It is postulated that the decreased PaO2, in the chilled infants was an effect of norepinephrine release on the pulmonary vascular bed.

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Supported in part by grants from the National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development, T1-HD-0095 and R01-HD-00747.

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