Sir.—We read with interest the article by Pittard et al,1 who reported on bone mineralization of very-low-birth-weight preterm infants who did not require extremely extensive medical support. They found normal serum calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P), and parathyroid hormone levels, and normal bone mineralization in spite of the fact that the infants were fed conventional formula with no mineral supplemen
Serum Calcium (Ca) and Phosphorus (P) Concentrations, Alkaline Phosphatase Activities, and Urinary Ca-Creatinine and P-Creatinine Ratios* Week Urinary Ca- Urinary P-Calcium, Phosphorus, Alkaline Creatinine Ratio, Creatinine Ratio, mmol/L mmol/L Phosphatase, U/L mmol/mmol mmol/mmol 0 1.96±0.29 1.76±0.29 102±35 2 2.30±0.15 1.76±0.49 194±67 4 2.21 ±0.19 1.80±0.27 138±45 6 2.21 ±0.27 1.71 ±0.28 164±68 8 2.15±0.26 1.63±0.27 189±68 0.34±0.17 0.36±0.28 0.21 ±0.11 0.29±0.12 5.70±4.84 7.32±3.84 6.65±2.14 7.37±3.41 *Numbers are mean ±SD. tation.
Recently, we observed similar phenomena in connection with other aspects of the Ca and P homeostasis of preterm infants