PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Heather J Lambert
AU  - Peter H Baylis
AU  - Malcolm G Coulthard
TI  - Central–peripheral temperature difference, blood pressure, and arginine vasopressin in preterm neonates undergoing volume expansion
AID  - 10.1136/fn.78.1.F43
DP  - 1998 Jan 01
TA  - Archives of Disease in Childhood - Fetal and Neonatal Edition
PG  - F43--F45
VI  - 78
IP  - 1
4099  - http://fn.bmj.com/content/78/1/F43.short
4100  - http://fn.bmj.com/content/78/1/F43.full
SO  - Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed1998 Jan 01; 78
AB  - AIM To examine the effect of intravascular volume expansion for the treatment of hypovolaemia in sick preterm neonates. METHODS An intravenous infusion of 20 ml per kg of 4.5 % albumin was given to 14 preterm neonates. The effects on systolic blood pressure, central peripheral temperature difference (c-pT), and plasma arginine vasopressin concentration (pAVP) were measured. RESULTS Thirteen babies showed a rise in systolic blood pressure. The six babies with the highest initial values of pAVP and c-pT showed a fall in both of these after infusion. The babies with lower initial pAVP (below 4 pmol/l) showed either a rise (two) or no change (six) after albumin infusion. There was a significant correlation between c-pT and log pAVP before (r2=0.61; p<0.05) and after infusion (r2=0.45; p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS Plasma AVP concentration is related to c-pT in unwell preterm newborns. This study suggests that clinical assessment of hypovolaemia in preterm newborns is poor and could be improved by using c-pT.