[Plasma cortisol response after stimulation with ACTH in postmature newborns (author's transl)]

Authors have studied, in three series of newborns-I) normal term: II) small for date, and III) postmature-, the basal levels of plasmatic cortisol and after stimulation with ACTH. Blood samples were obtained at the 48 hours and 10 days of life, respectively. There are not significative differences in the three groups neither in the basal levels of plasmatic cortisol nor after stimulation (p greater than 0.05). These results show no correlation between postmaturity and fetal adrenal primary or secondary hypocorticism.