Abstract
Parenteral alimentation is essential to the management of a variety of illnesses in the premature infant. Several reports of cholestasis in association with intravenous fat emulsions and/or protein solutions prompted a study of 24 neonates requiring continuous intravenous alimentation for as long as 70 days. Serum bilirubin (diazo method) and serum bile acids (gas-liquid chromatography) were estimated at regular intervals and correlated with body weight, antibiotics, phototherapy, and other medications. In 18 of the patients without sepsis, ranging in body weight from 800gm. to 3220gm., serum bile acids ranged from less than 2.0 - 26.8mcg./ml. (m = 13.7), and serum bilirubin fell progressively during intravenous alimentation. Sepsis in 5 of the patients was associated with both hyperbilirubinemia and markedly increased bile acids, ranging from 60-140mcg./ml. (m - 76), significantly different (p < 0.002) from the non-sepsis group. These findings confirm the importance of sepsis as a cause of neonatal cholestasis and emphasize the need to seek specific causes for the occurrence of cholestasis in infants requiring intravenous alimentation.
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Manninello, F., Kok, E., Javitt, N. et al. NEONATAL CHOLESTASIS: ROLE OF SEPSIS AND IN-TRAVENOUS ALIMENTATION. Pediatr Res 11, 446 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197704000-00461
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197704000-00461