RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 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
JF Pediatrics
JO Pediatrics
FD American Academy of Pediatrics
SP 641
OP 641
VO 2
IS 5
A1 RAPOPORT, SAMUEL
YR 1948
UL http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/2/5/641.1.abstract
AB 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.