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Published on: August 2, 2017
Transplacental metabolic alkalosis
Patrik Schimert1, Vera Bernet-Buettiker, Christoph Rutishauser
1Department of Neonatology and Intensive Care, University Children's Hospital, Zurich, Switzerland.
We present a newborn with hypochloraemic metabolic alkalosis due to severe metabolic alkalosis of his mother. Hypoventilation as a leading symptom resolved quickly with treatment but may be life-threatening if not detected. In this case, the mother had a probable eating disorder. Little is known about transplacentally acquired electrolyte disorders in this setting. In the absence of symptoms, most of the cases might be undetected. The usual neonatal outcome of anorexia and/or bulimia nervosa in pregnancy is a lower birthweight and a lower risk for instrumental delivery.
We present a newborn with hypochloraemic metabolic alkalosis due to severe metabolic alkalosis of his mother. Hypoventilation as a leading symptom resolved quickly with treatment but may be life-threatening if not detected. In this case, the mother had a probable eating disorder. Little is known about transplacentally acquired electrolyte disorders in this setting. In the absence of symptoms, most of the cases might be undetected. The usual neonatal outcome of anorexia and/or bulimia nervosa in pregnancy is a lower birthweight and a lower risk for instrumental delivery.
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