Treatment of blood glucose concentrations in newborn babies

摘要

Few subjects provoke such controversy as does the measurement of blood glucose concentration in an otherwise healthy newborn baby. Little evidence-based guidance is available to tell clinical staff what concentration of blood glucose should provoke intervention to raise concentrations and avoid potentially disastrous neurological complications. Indeed, whether a low concentration causes problems in the absence of symptoms is debatable. Over the years, various thresholds and strategies have evolved despite the fact that by itself a blood glucose measurement is an inadequate guide to assess the fundamental problem of neuro-glycopaenia and its sequelae, except at extremely low values.Many babies are admitted to neonatal intensive-care units, separated from their mothers, and given an intravenous infusion of glucose, thus disrupting the establishment of breastfeeding.