Body Water Compartments in the Premature Infant, With Special Reference to the Effects of the Respiratory Distress Syndrome and of Maternal Diabetes and Toxemia

Normal values for both total body water and extracellular water have been determined in 86 premature infants aged 1 to 90 days and weighing 940 to 2,435 gm, with use of the techniques of deuterium oxide and bromide dilution. Nine full-term infants aged 1 to 6 days and weighing 2,590 to 4,985 gm were similarly studied. Nine infants with the respiratory distress syndrome and eight infants of toxemic mothers studied in the first 24 hours of life showed no significant difference in their body water compartments in comparison to a control group of normal infants matched for age and weight. Seven infants of diabetic mothers studied in the first 24 hours of life showed a significant decrease in total body water, expressed as percentage of body weight, with a normal intracellular to extracellular water ratio. These data indirectly support other evidence that there is an increase in body fat in these infants at birth. See Table in the PDF file