Predictive factors and incidence of complications in apparently healthy full term infants of diabetic mothers.

AIM: To determine the incidence of different complications of the apparently healthy full-term infants of diabetic mothers (IDMs) and whether these complications could be predicted early. METHODS: A prospective study was performed in the Nursery Unit of King Fahd Hospital of the University in Al-Khobar over an 18-month period. Eligible neonates were those full-term IDMs who were asymptomatic at birth, with birth weight ≥ 2000 g and whose mothers had gestational or pregestational diabetes. AUDMs were routinely observed for at least 2 days. A complete blood count, glucose, bilirubin and calcium serum levels were monitored. The morbidity study group included all IDMs who experienced complications requiring treatment or observation for > 48 hours. RESULTS: One hundred and eighty eight infants with a birth-weight of 3411 ± 616 g and with gestational age of 38.5 ± 1.2 weeks were enrolled in the study. Asymptomatic hypoglycemia (31%) was mostly mild and transient. The rate of other complications such as hypocalcemia (4%), polycythemia (13%), hyperbilirubinemia (18%), intrauterine growth retardation (2%) with 30% rate for large gestational age. Using a logistic regression model; maternal insulin therapy, poor diabetic control, birth asphyxia, early neonatal hypoglycemia and polycythemia were found to be highly predictive of morbidity with an odd ratio of 2.41, 2.91, 9.65, 3.88 and 3.74 respectively. CONCLUSION: Complications of apparently healthy IDMs appear to be very mild and transient. These were found to be strongly associated with specific perinatal events.

[Results of virologic studies in 620 children with abacterial meningitis over a 15-year period (1971-1985)]. / Ergebnisse virologischer Untersuchungen bei 620 Kindern mit abakterieller Meningitis in 15 Jahren (1971-1985).

Cases of non-bacterial meningitis being hospitalized at the Children's Hospital of the University of Bochum in the years 1971 to 1985 were analysed retrospectively according to etiological and epidemiological aspects. Altogether 620 non-bacterial cases of meningitis were included in this study. For 378 (60.9%) children the infecting agent could be identified while in 242 cases (39.1%) the etiology remained open. In 237 cases enterovirus had been the causative agent. The average age of the patients was 6.5 years, boys were more frequently involved than girls (65% versus 35%). The majority of enterovirus infections occurred during the summer months July to September whereas (mumps) parotitis infections were equally distributed over the whole year. Yearly increases in certain enterovirus types were correlated to an increase in ECHO 11-infections in 1982, Coxsackie B5-infection in 1983 and 84 and ECHO 7-infection in 1985 based on data from the whole Federal Republic of Germany. However the majority of enterovirus-caused meningitis occurred during local endemics.