1 Neonatology Service, Brooke Army Medical Center, Box 64, Ft Sam Houston, TX 78234-6200
To the Editor.
In their article, Black et al1 cite a surprising incidence of complications of polycythemia in their partial exchange transfusion-treated v their nonexchange populations. Of particular note is the remarkable incidence of necrotizing enterocolitis (eight of 43 patients or 18.6%) in the exchange group. In the nonexchanged group, no infants were so affected. In a previously reported prospective study of 7,133 consecutive live births at Tripler Army Medical Center, Hawaii, a total of 82 infants were identified as having neonatal polycythemia (venous hematocrit 65% or greater).2