Re: Anaerobic Metabolism in the Newborn Infant. I. On the Resistance of the Fetus and Newborn to Oxygen Lack, James L. Wilson, M.D., et al, PEDIATRICS 1:581, 1948

Abstract

In their recent article Drs. Wilson et al have undertaken a reinvestigation of the problem of the acid-base balance of the premature infant. The authors conclude from a review of the literature and their own findings that a "paradox" exists. On the one hand, the effect of oxygen on the respiration would indicate a condition of inadequate pulmonary respiration, while, on the other, the data on plasma CO₂ and pH, "interpreted in the usual way," would point to overventilation. They reject as improbable the thought that a difference might exist between oxygen and CO₂ in their rate of diffusion through the alveolar membrane. Instead, they propose that an incomplete metabolism might lead to a lower production of CO₂.

The purpose of this letter is to direct attention to studies by M. Krogh and A. Krogh (J. Physiol. 49:271; 52:391) in which a great difference in the diffusibility of the two gases through biologic membranes was demonstrated, with the CO₂ diffusing at a 20-30 fold rate compared with oxygen.