Neonatal Hyperammonemia

Abstract

Goldberg et al1 described 12 infants with hyperammonemia in association with severe perinatal asphyxia, characterized by low Apgar scores and prolonged resuscitation, in premature, term, and postmature neonates. Ballard and colleagues2 reported five preterm infants with transient hyperammonemia and respiratory distress. We wish to summarize briefly the course of an infant who exhibited transient hyperammonemia without evidence of perinatal asphyxia or primary respiratory distress. This 2,520-gm female infant was the product of an uncomplicated pregnancy in a 21-year-old primigravida.