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Cerebrospinal fluid acid‐base balance in newborns
Author(s) -
Hermansen Marcus C.,
Ellison Patricia H.
Publication year - 1982
Publication title -
annals of neurology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.764
H-Index - 296
eISSN - 1531-8249
pISSN - 0364-5134
DOI - 10.1002/ana.410110404
Subject(s) - cerebrospinal fluid , balance (ability) , base (topology) , medicine , pathology , physical medicine and rehabilitation , mathematics , mathematical analysis
In adults, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) acid‐base balance is an important determinant of cerebral blood flow, ventilatory drive, and state of consciousness. Sixteen lumbar punctures were performed on newborns (mean gestational age, 33.8 weeks; range, 26 to 44 weeks). The mean CSF pH was 7.366 units, 0.036 less than the mean capillary blood pH (NS). The mean CSF arterial carbon dioxide tension (Pco 2 ) was 40.3 mm Hg, 6.7 greater than the mean blood Pco 2 ( p < 0.01). The mean bicarbonate ion concentration in CSF was 21.8 mEq/L, 1.2 greater than that in blood (NS). Acid‐base determinations in CSF of neonates with intraventricular hemorrhage did not differ significantly from those of neonates with otherwise normal CSF. These acid‐base values are similar to those found in adults and did not vary with gestational age, suggesting that mechanisms to establish this acid‐base gradient are developed by 26 weeks' gestation.