Electrolytes and glucose in cerebrospinal fluid of premature infants with intraventricular haemorrhage: role of potassium in cerebral infarction.

Potassium, sodium, and glucose concentrations in cerebrospinal fluid and plasma were determined in 73 infants whose gestational ages ranged from 25 to 40 weeks. Six of 29 (21%) neonates with intraventricular haemorrhages had raised potassium concentrations in the cerebrospinal fluid (3.7-30 mmol/l); five developed cerebral infarctions. There was a significant correlation between sodium and glucose concentrations in plasma and cerebrospinal fluid with prolonged hypoglycorrhachia accompanying posthaemorrhagic hydrocephalus. Raised concentrations of potassium in cerebrospinal fluid occur with intraventricular haemorrhage and may contribute to the development of cerebral infarction.