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Hypoglycemia in the Newborn

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Abstract

Since a universal definition for hypoglycemia is lacking, an operational threshold for initiating therapy has been defined. Hypoglycemia is encountered in a variety of neonatal conditions including prematurity, growth retardation and maternal diabetes. Since hypoglycemia may be asymptomatic, routine screening for this condition in certain high risk situations is recommended. Supervised breast-feeding may be a treatment option in asymptomatic hypoglycemia. However, symptomatic hypoglycemia should always be treated with a continuous infusion of parenteral dextrose. Neonates needing dextrose infusion rates above 12 mg/kg/m should be investigated for refractory causes of hypoglycemia. Hypoglycemia has been linked to poor neuro-developmental outcome and hence aggressive screening and treatment is recommended.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Ansari Nagar, NewDelhi, India

    Shankar Narayan,  Rajiv Aggarwal (Assistant Professor), Ashok K. Deorari & Vinod K. Paul

Authors
  1. Shankar Narayan
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  2. Rajiv Aggarwal
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  3. Ashok K. Deorari
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  4. Vinod K. Paul
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rajiv Aggarwal.

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Narayan, S., Aggarwal, R., Deorari, A.K. et al. Hypoglycemia in the Newborn. Indian J Pediatr 68, 963–965 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02722597

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02722597

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