Exclusive breast feeding and dehydration fever in newborns during the first days of life

Area of Science:

• Neonatal Medicine
• Pediatrics
• Public Health

Background:

• Fever in newborns is a common reason for admission to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).
• Differentiating infectious causes from non-infectious causes like dehydration is crucial for appropriate management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the prevalence of dehydration fever in infants admitted to the NICU.
• To identify risk factors and characteristics associated with dehydration in febrile infants.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 75 term infants admitted to the NICU with fever.
• Infants were classified into dehydration and non-dehydration groups based on clinical and laboratory signs.
• Comparison of clinical and laboratory variables between the two groups.

Main Results:

• 71% (53/75) of febrile infants admitted to the NICU exhibited clinical and laboratory signs of dehydration.
• Dehydration was more prevalent in exclusively breastfed infants and those with fever onset after 24 hours of age.
• No positive blood or cerebrospinal fluid cultures were found in infants with dehydration, suggesting absence of serious bacterial or viral infections.
• The incidence of dehydration fever rose significantly after implementing an "Exclusive Breast Feeding" policy.

Conclusions:

• Dehydration is a significant cause of fever in exclusively breastfed infants during the early neonatal period.
• Febrile infants with signs of dehydration in this cohort did not have serious bacterial or viral infections.
• The findings highlight the importance of monitoring hydration status in exclusively breastfed newborns presenting with fever.