CONCENTRATION OF PYRUVIC ACID IN THE BLOOD OF THE NEWBORN INFANT

[摘要] THERE are several aspects of carbohydrate metabolism in the newborn infant which are peculiar to that age group. The normal, full-term newborn exhibits concentrations of glucose in the blood between 15 and 120 mg/100 ml.1 Concentration of glycogen in the liver may be as high as 10 gm/100 gm wet-weight immediately after birth and then there is a precipitous decrease.2 There is a relative resistance of the fetus and newborn to anoxia.3-4 This phenomenon has been attributed to the preponderance of anaerobic over aerobic metabolism in the tissues of the newborn.5 Further data seemed desirable concerning the concentrations of intermediates in the blood, other than glucose, in the carbohydrate metabolism of the newborn.Accordingly a study was made of the normal concentration of pyruvic acid in the newborn for the first 5 days of life. Data on concentration of pyruvic acid in the blood have also been obtained in normal adults, pregnant and parturient women, and on venous and arterial blood from the umbilical cord.PATIENT MATERIAL AND METHODSThe control or normal adult group was predominantly composed of white females and consisted of hospital employees and student nurses in the reproductive age period. Previous studies by others showed no significant difference between males and females6 or between whites and Negroes.7 The controls were divided into a group which supplied venous blood and another group which supplied capillary blood. Minimal squeezing proximal to the site of puncture was applied during all collections. The group of pregnant women consisted of both private and clinic patients, while the parturient group consisted of clinic patients only.

[学科分类] 儿科学