1 Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, Ochsner Clinic, New Orleans, LA 70121
To the Editor.
The title of the recent report by Perlman et al asks an important question for those of us who frequently treat infants who have bronchopulmonary dysplasia ("Is Chloride Depletion an Important Contributing Cause of Death in Infants With Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia?" Pediatrics l986;77:2l2-2l6). They suggest that chloride deficiency may be an important factor in the poor outcome of patients with bronchopulmonary dysplasia. While I am sure no one will seriously suggest that severe hypochloremia will not have a deleterious effect on an already seriously ill infant, I do have questions regarding how they arrived at their conclusion.