Nature of the Sweating Deficit of Prematurely Born Neonates

Abstract

Thirty of 131 healthy full-size and two of 108 healthy low-birth-weight newborn infants demonstrated spontaneous generalized sweating under standardized conditions. In contrast eight of 20 low-birth-weight infants of heroin-addicted mothers had spontaneous generalized sweating. In addition, the pharmacologic threshold for sweating was decreased in the low-birth-weight infants of addicted mothers as compared to the healthy low-birth-weight controls. This paradox may be the result of predominantly central neurogenic stimulation of sweat glands induced by heroin withdrawal.