Neoreviews
HOME HELP CONTACT US SUBSCRIPTIONS CME ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Take the CME quiz:
 Vol. 9 No. 3, March 2008
Right arrow E-Letters: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when E-Letters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow E-mail this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My File Cabinet
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via CrossRef
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Lorenz, J. M.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow Articles by Lorenz, J. M.

NeoReviews Vol.9 No.3 2008 e102
© 2008 American Academy of Pediatrics

Fluid and Electrolyte Therapy in the Very Low-birthweight Neonate

John M. Lorenz, MD*

* Professor of Clinical Pediatrics, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital of New York, New York, NY

The transition from fetal to neonatal life is associated with major changes in water and electrolyte homeostasis. Fluid and electrolyte management is particularly challenging for very preterm neonates in whom water loss is large, highly variable, and, in large part, not subject to feedback control. In addition, preterm neonates’ kidneys have a more limited ability to compensate for water and electrolyte imbalances than term neonates. Insensible water loss is a much larger component of the total water requirement in extremely preterm infants than in term infants. The weight loss seen in preterm infants during the first postnatal week results, in large part, from an abrupt and absolute decrease in total body water volume, and hyperkalemia is a common finding in the first 24 to 72 hours after birth. Fluid and electrolyte adaptation in most very low-birthweight newborns generally occurs in three phases, and awareness of the changes associated with each phase can aid clinicians in determining appropriate adjustments in fluid and electrolyte therapy.






HOME HELP CONTACT US SUBSCRIPTIONS CME ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 2008 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.