[Neurologic follow-up of polycythemic newborn infants].

Seventy five newborn infants with neonatal polycythemia diagnosis (venous hematocrit levels greater than 65% were studied). They were born in the Instituto Nacional de Perinatologia and follow through their first year of life searching for neurologic findings. The more frequent signs related to polycythemia in this group were: presence of plethora, respiratory distress, cyanosis and tremors; the associated findings were hypoglycemia, hyperbilirubinemia, necrotizing enterocolitis and meconium aspiratum. Sixty eight of the seventy five neonates developed symptomatology and seven didn't. The eight neonates who developed neurologic transient impairments belonged to the symptomatic group in a 0.11 proportion. We concluded that the number of babies with neurologic findings in our sample was small in comparison with other reference studies; we also found that the exchange transfusion is not a preventive measure for neurologic sequel, but it is useful to diminish the symptomatology caused by polycythemia; besides we don't recommend this procedure in asymptomatic babies because the complication risks as the enterocolitis. We propose a simple treatment scheme.