Hyperglycemia in very low birth weight infants: a common iatrogenic problem.

From a total of 36 very low birth weight infants (less then 1200 g) admitted to our neonatal unit during an 18-month period, 7 were fed per os while the remaining 29 received, during the first 4 days of life, parenteral glucose infusion either as a supplement to oral feedings (n: 11) or as the only source of fluids (n: 18). Among these 29 infants 21 (72%) manifested hyperglycemia (blood glucose greater than 125 mg/dl). On the contrary none of the 7 infants receiving oral feedings exclusively manifested hyperglycemia. Hyperglycemia was related to high rates of glucose infusion (greater then 0.4 g/kg/hr). These data attest to the fragile nature of glucose metabolism in infants of very low birth weight.