COCAINE EXPOSED INFANTS--CARDIAC PROBLEMS AND OUTCOME

怀孕期间使用可卡因的母亲所生的婴儿发病率和猝死率较高。猝死的病因尚不清楚。初步观察表明存在多种心血管异常，如左心室体积增大、持续性高血压、ST段抬高和迷走神经张力增高。为了研究子宫内可卡因暴露对心血管的影响，本研究的目的是：检测新生儿期心血管异常；探讨血浆胆碱酯酶活性与上述异常的关系；并研究这些异常在生命最初两个月的自然历史。该研究的下一阶段是对年龄较大的儿童（2-4岁）进行研究，以确定围产期可卡因暴露是否会导致持续的心脏（ST段抬高和左心室肥厚）异常。

Infants born to mother who use cocaine during pregnancy have greater morbidity and a higher rate of sudden death. The etiology of sudden death is unclear. Preliminary observations suggest the presence of multiple cardiovascular abnormalities such as greater left ventricular mass, persistent hypertension, greater prevalence of ST segment elevations and higher vagal tone. To study the cardiovascular effects on in-utero cocaine exposure the study has the following aims: to detect the cardiovascular abnormalities in the newborn period; to evaluate the relationship of cord blood plasma cholinesterase activity on the above abnormalities; and to study the natural history of these abnormalities during the first 2 months of life. The next phase of this study is to study older children (age 2-4 years) in order to determine if perinatal cocaine exposure leads to persistent cardiac (ST segment elevation and left ventricualr hypertrophy) abnormalities.