Neonatal hypothermia in a developing country.

Fifty newborn Iraqi children with hypothermia were studied to determine causes and incidence of the precipitating factors. The majority of infants more than three days old (late-onset) had evidence of infection, particularly septicemia. The overall mortality rate was 26 per cent--(42 per cent in low birth weight infants (LBW). Early-onset hypothermia in the first three days of life is due to exposure to cold without evidence of infection and has a good prognosis. The most common finding in our series was a high incidence of aspiration pneumonia in late-onset hypothermia. Antibiotics effective against Escherichia coli, such as gentamicin, should be given from the outset to all patients with late-onset hypothermia without waiting for laboratory proof of infection.