1 Departments of Medical Microbiology and Clinical Microbiology, Health Sciences Center, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
To the Editor.
We read with interest the article by Bamji et al (Pediatrics 1986;78:573-575) concerning the presence of palpable lymph nodes in 24% of healthy newborns. Information of this nature is valuable in the assessment of the likelihood that congenital infections are present in neonates if lymph nodes are palpable during the first days of life. We have also conducted a survey of palpable lymph nodes in healthy young term infants. Sixty-five neonates born at the Pumwani Maternity Hospital in Nairobi, Kenya, were examined for the presence of palpable axillary and inguinal lymph nodes within 24 hours of birth.