Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Foreword (1)
- Foreword (2)
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Section 1 Organization of neonatal transport
- Section 2 Basics in cardiopulmonary resuscitation of newborn infants
- Section 3 Classic and rare scenarios in the neonatal period
- Management of healthy, term newborn infants (vaginal delivery, cesarean section, vacuum extraction, forceps delivery)
- Management of preterm and moderately depressed term newborn infants with a birth weight ≥1500 g
- Management of very preterm newborn infants (VLBW, ELBW)
- Twin–twin (feto–fetal) transfusion syndrome
- An apparently trivial call from the term baby nursery
- Out of hospital birth
- Hypoglycemia
- Meconium aspiration
- Chorioamnionitis and early-onset sepsis in the newborn infant
- Perinatal hemorrhage
- Perinatal hypoxia-ischemia
- Cerebral seizures
- Infants born to mothers on psychoactive substances
- Prenatal and postnatal arrhythmias
- Critical congenital cardiovascular defects
- Patent ductus arteriosus of the preterm infant
- Persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN)
- Congenital diaphragmatic hernia
- Pneumothorax
- Congenital cystic adenomatoid malformation of the lung (CAM, CCAM)
- Chylothorax
- Hemolytic disease of the newborn
- Hydrops fetalis
- Choanal atresia
- Esophageal atresia
- Gastrointestinal obstruction
- Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC)
- Omphalocele and gastroschisis
- Neural tube defects
- Cleft palate
- Birth trauma: brachial plexus palsy, facial nerve palsy, clavicular fracture, skull fracture, intracranial and subperiosteal hemorrhage (cephalohematoma)
- Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)
- Questions for review
- References (Section 3)
- Section 4 Transport
- Section 5 Appendix
- Index
- Plate section
Hypoglycemia
from Section 3 - Classic and rare scenarios in the neonatal period
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 March 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Foreword (1)
- Foreword (2)
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Section 1 Organization of neonatal transport
- Section 2 Basics in cardiopulmonary resuscitation of newborn infants
- Section 3 Classic and rare scenarios in the neonatal period
- Management of healthy, term newborn infants (vaginal delivery, cesarean section, vacuum extraction, forceps delivery)
- Management of preterm and moderately depressed term newborn infants with a birth weight ≥1500 g
- Management of very preterm newborn infants (VLBW, ELBW)
- Twin–twin (feto–fetal) transfusion syndrome
- An apparently trivial call from the term baby nursery
- Out of hospital birth
- Hypoglycemia
- Meconium aspiration
- Chorioamnionitis and early-onset sepsis in the newborn infant
- Perinatal hemorrhage
- Perinatal hypoxia-ischemia
- Cerebral seizures
- Infants born to mothers on psychoactive substances
- Prenatal and postnatal arrhythmias
- Critical congenital cardiovascular defects
- Patent ductus arteriosus of the preterm infant
- Persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN)
- Congenital diaphragmatic hernia
- Pneumothorax
- Congenital cystic adenomatoid malformation of the lung (CAM, CCAM)
- Chylothorax
- Hemolytic disease of the newborn
- Hydrops fetalis
- Choanal atresia
- Esophageal atresia
- Gastrointestinal obstruction
- Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC)
- Omphalocele and gastroschisis
- Neural tube defects
- Cleft palate
- Birth trauma: brachial plexus palsy, facial nerve palsy, clavicular fracture, skull fracture, intracranial and subperiosteal hemorrhage (cephalohematoma)
- Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)
- Questions for review
- References (Section 3)
- Section 4 Transport
- Section 5 Appendix
- Index
- Plate section
Summary
Definition
Hypoglycemia in neonates is a relatively common, heterogenous and potentially serious problem. A consistent definition of hypoglycemia does not exist in the literature or in clinical practice.
Epidemiology
Hypoglycemia is a frequent concern in neonatology
For the majority of healthy term infants, low glucose levels reflect metabolic adaptation to extrauterine life
If the first feeding is delayed by 3–6 h, 10% of healthy neonates are not able to maintain their blood glucose level above 30 mg/dl (1.7 mmol/l). After 12 h of life (and feeding) the risk for symptomatic hypoglycemia declines, but still exists for the term infant with low birth weight (<2500 g; SGA), with high birth weight (LGA), and postasphyxic newborns.
Diagnosis
The diagnosis of hypoglycemia may be made in the symptomatic neonate with a low blood glucose concentration and resolving symptoms after normalization of the blood glucose concentration. Transient hypoglycemia in the first few hours after birth is relatively frequent. Hypoglycemia that is persistent requires further investigation.
WHO guidelines – hypoglycemia of the newborn (continued on p. 262)
• Healthy term newborns who are breastfeeding on demand do not need to have their blood glucose routinely checked and need no supplementary foods or fluids
• Healthy term newborns do not develop “symptomatic” hypoglycemia as a result of simple underfeeding. If an infant develops signs suggesting hypoglycemia, look for an underlying cause. This usually means drawing a blood sample (serum tube, better: sodium fluoride tube) at the time of hypoglycemia prior to treatment. Detection of the cause is as important as immediate correction of the blood glucose level
• Thermal protection (the maintenance of normal body temperature) in addition to breastfeeding is necessary to prevent hypoglycemia […]
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- Chapter
- Information
- Neonatal Emergencies , pp. 260 - 268Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2009