Water distribution (total body water and extracellular water) and plasma-volume in Curacaoan newborn infants measured by a triple indicator method - abstract

ABSTRACT

The postnatal weight loss of normal Curacaoan term infants is approximately 4-5 per cent of the birth weight whereas the average Caucasian term infant will lose ñ 10 percent of the birthweight. As part of a study to investigate the influence of the neonatal body (water) compartments on the postnatal weight loss, the "water distribution" (the total body water, extracellular water), and the plasma volume in a group of 13 Curacaoan neonates were measured simultaneously, using a triple indicator (deuterium oxide, sucrose and evans blue), single injection dilution technique. The high precision of the method used to determine extracellular water volume (ECW) allows the use of very small samples in the neonates. Mean neonatal total body water volume (75.1 percent) on the first day use of life in this group of term Curacaoan in fants corresponds to values presented in other studies. However, the distribution of the total water volume between the intracellular (43.9 percent) and extracellular (31.1 percent) space showed, in comparison with studies in term-AGA infants from other countries, an increased proportion of total water occupied by the intracellular compartment at the expense of the extracellular space (AU)