83 GLUCOSE OXIDATION ON THE FIRST DAY OF LIFE IN VENTILATED VLBW INFANTS

Abstract

Ventilated VLBW infants usually receive only glucose during the first day of life. These infants are prone to hypo- and hyper glycemia, and it is unknown if this is due to changes in glucose oxidation(Gluox) or non-oxidative disposal (NOD). We studied glucose turnover and oxidation in 7 ventilated VLBW infanta (birthweight 1.25 ± 0.30 kg; gestional age 32 ± 2 weeks; postnatal age 17 ± 5 hrs) by a primed constant infusion of the stable isotope U-13C-glucose. The rate of appearance of glucose (Ra) was measured from the plasma (m+6) enrichment using GC-MS, glucose oxidation was measured as 13CO2 excretion in breath. Results as mean ± 1sd: Conclusion: 1. Endogenous glucose production was still present in all infanta (2.24±0.84 mg/kg.d) 2. Glucose oxidation was less than glucose intake 3. Non-oxidative disposal accounts for more than 50% of total Rate of appearance of glucose.