TRANSEPIDERMAL WATER LOSS IN NEWBORN INFANTS

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Abstract
During the 1st wk after birth the transepidermal water loss was determined repeatedly in 7 [human] infants born after 25-27 wk of gestation, in 13 infants born after 28-30 wk and in 14 full-term infants. All infants were appropriate for gestational age. The very preterm infants had high evaporative water losses from their skin on their 1st days after birth. A gradual decrease was then observed, but after 4 wk the values were still higher than those in full-term infants. The transepidermal water loss in full-term infants was unchanged during the first 2 wk of life, but increased during the subsequent 2 wk. The relation between evaporation rate from an interscapular skin area and ambient humidity was studied repeatedly during the 1st wk of life in 2 very preterm infants. The magnitude of evaporation decreased with increasing postnatal age, but was still dependent on the ambient relative humidity.