An unsuspected danger in oxygen administration.

A five-day-old female infant weighing 3..6 kg. was admitted to the General Hospital, Malacca, Malaysia on 14/1/76, with severe breathlessness of one day's duration, lethargy and poor feeding. She was born at term in a private maternity home after a normal pregnancy and labour and was discharged in apparent good health the day before symptoms appeared. On examination, she was dyspnoeic with subcostal and intercostal recession; she was not cyanosed. Her respiratory rate was 50 per minute, apex beat 154 per minute and rectal temperature 36.6°C. Respirations were grunting but the lungs and heart were clinically normal. A clinical diagnosis of pneumonia was confirmed by a chest xray. Blood culture was sterile. Intravenous fluids, intravenous ampicillin (125 mg 6 hourly) and intramuscular gentamicin (5 mg 8 hourly) were administered. Oxygen was "prescribed" in the following manner "02 Stat".