Defective thermoregulation in malnourished Jamaican babies - abstract

ABSTRACT

Twelve malnourished babies were exposed, in sleep, to an environmental temperature of 24§C for 30 minutes. Their oxygen consumption decreased by 13.5 percent and their mean rectal temperature fell from 37.05§C to 35.95§C. When these children, after recovery, were exposed to the same environmental stress, their oxygen consumption increased by 19 percent and their rectal temperature fell from 37.36§C to 36.65§C. These findings provide more evidence that thermoregulation is impaired in malnourished children, and may help to explain the occurrence of hyperthermia in some of them (AU)