Thermoregulatory instability in kernicterus

ABSTRACT

A child with kernicterus and severe marasmus had marked thermoregulatory instability. An initial episode of hypothermia was attributed to deficient energy reserves, while experimental evidence suggested that subsequent intermittent fever was due to an unstable set-point of the hypothalmic thermoistat. Impaired vasomotor reactivity as a result of autonomic dysfunction may also have contributed to the unstable body temperature (AU)