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. 1981 Jul;56(7):530–534. doi: 10.1136/adc.56.7.530

Head insulation and heat loss in the newborn.

J K Stothers
PMCID: PMC1627361  PMID: 7271287

Abstract

The thermal balance of 13 term infants was measured in a closed-circuit metabolism chamber. Each was studied naked, then with a gamgee-lined hat, and finally with a 'cummerbund' made of a similar material and of similar dimensions. At 27 degrees C the oxygen consumption of the 'hatted' babies was only 85% and the total heat loss 75% of the values measured with the infants naked. The cummerbund offered no detectable benefit. An additional 10 infants were studied while wearing a tubegauze hat at environmental temperatures of 28.5 (+/- 0.5) degrees C. This type of hat gave no measurable thermal protection. It is concluded that a substantial reduction of thermal stress in adverse environments can be achieved simply and clearly by adequately covering the vault of the skull.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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