Hypoglycaemia is frequent in children and prompt management is required to prevent brain injury. In this article we will consider hypoglycaemia in children after the neonatal period. The most common causes are diabetes mellitus and idiopathic ketotic hypoglycaemia (IKH) but a number of endocrine disorders and inborn errors of metabolism (IEMs) need to be excluded. Elucidation of the diagnosis r...

BACKGROUND Neonatal septicaemia remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality. The aetiology, risk factors and outcome of this problem need to understood. OBJECTIVE To determine the aetiology, risk factors and immediate outcome of bacteriologically confirmed neonatal septicaemia in Mulago hospital. METHODS Blood cultures were aseptically obtained from neonates presenting with clinical se...

Hypoglycaemia is a common problem in the neonatal period, and it frequently reflects difficulties in adapting to extra uterine life. Strategies to facilitate this physiological adaptation should be enhanced. (Sem fetal neo del 2005) Incidence is variable depending on the definition criteria used in different studies, but according to Cornblath (Cornblath et al 1993, 2000 as cited by Fernández L...

Isolated ACTH deficiency (IAD) is a rare cause of neonatal cholestasis and hypoglycaemia. This diagnosis has a 20% mortality potential if unrecognised. We describe a case of an infant presenting with cholestatic jaundice and hypoglycaemia. The patient had laboratory findings suggestive of IAD, which was later confirmed with molecular genetic testing. One of the mutations this patient had is a n...

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Low blood sugar concentrations are common in infants, and concentrations which in the adult would be considered pathologically low may be physiological in the newborn in whom hypoglycaemia is not necessarily associated with symptoms (Ketteringham and Austin, 1938; McKittrick, 1940; Hanley and Horn, 1943; Norval, Kennedy, and Berkson, 1949; Wachter, 1949; Pedersen, 1952; Desmond, 1953; Lowrey, G...