[Dietary chloride deficiency in premature infants?]

In recent years uncontrolled decrease of chloride contents in some charges of infant formulas has caused chloride deficiency in some infants. The chloride requirement in infants of 5.8 kg has been estimated to be 3.6 mmol/d. Accordingly, prematures of 1.3 kg would require about 2.6 mmol/d. Considering the daily intake of fluid, the minimum concentration of chloride of a formula for infants has to be 4.5 mmol/l and a formula for prematures 11.8 mmol/l. In 4 formulas for prematures and 7 humanized formulas for infants the concentration of chloride ranged from 7.1 to 15.8 mmol/l. In the FRG some prematures may have an inadequate intake of chloride.