Association of hypoglycaemia with symptoms in the newborn.

The symptoms produced by hypoglycaemia in the newborn include apnoeic attacks, alterations of muscle tone, 'juddery' movements of the limbs, convulsions, and reluctance to feed. These symptoms are not specific for hypoglycaemia, for they can be caused by a variety of conditions, such as perinatal anoxia, intracranial haemorrhage, meningitis, or hypocalcaemia. When infants with both hypoglycaemia and symptoms have died, an acceptable cause for death other than the hypoglycaemia is often found at necropsy (Tynan and Haas, 1963; Chance and Bower, 1966). It is therefore possible that the presence of both hypoglycaemia and symptoms may in many cases also be merely coincidental. The relation between hypoglycaemia, symptoms, and death has been investigated in 1000 consecutive admissions to the special care unit of a maternity hospital.