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Blood pressure in the first year of life in healthy infants born at term

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Abstract

Neonatal hypertension occurs in up to 2% of neonatal intensive care survivors and in up to 3% of all neonates. Normal blood pressure (BP) measurements are required to diagnose and manage appropriately both hypotension and hypertension in the neonate and infant. The aim of this study was to provide normative BP measurements during the first year of life of healthy infants born at term, using an oscillometric method. Neonates were enrolled from August 2003 to August 2005. Exclusion criteria included: infants of mothers with hypertension or diabetes of any type, use of illicit substances, congenital or chromosomal anomaly, admission to the neonatal intensive care unit or possible sepsis. There were 406 infants enrolled, with 150 children followed at 6 months of age and 118 children at 12 months of age. There were no differences in BP measurements at 6 months or 12 months of age by gender, weight or height. A BP measurement above the 90th percentile on day 2 or at 6 months was not predictive of a BP above the 90th percentile at 12 months of age. Higher systolic and diastolic measurements at 6 months and 12 months were found, in comparison to those in previous studies using ultrasonic devices. The findings of this study provide normative BP values for infants during their first year of life, using the oscillometric method, the most frequently used method in paediatric, neonatal intensive care and emergency departments.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge The Private Practice Fund of The Canberra Hospital for financial support for equipment and personnel. We would like to thank Sandy Meskell, Centre for Newborn Care Research Nurse, for her efforts in recruitment and follow-up.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Newborn Care, Department of Neonatology, The Canberra Hospital, P.O. Box 11, Woden, Australian Capital Territory, 2605, Australia

    Alison L. Kent & Zsuzsoka Kecskes

  2. Clinical Epidemiology Unit, The Canberra Hospital, Woden, Australian Capital Territory, Australia

    Bruce Shadbolt

  3. Nephrologist, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia

    Michael C. Falk

  4. Australian National University Medical School, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia

    Alison L. Kent, Zsuzsoka Kecskes & Bruce Shadbolt

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  1. Alison L. Kent
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  2. Zsuzsoka Kecskes
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  3. Bruce Shadbolt
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  4. Michael C. Falk
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Correspondence to Alison L. Kent.

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Kent, A.L., Kecskes, Z., Shadbolt, B. et al. Blood pressure in the first year of life in healthy infants born at term. Pediatr Nephrol 22, 1743–1749 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00467-007-0561-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00467-007-0561-8

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