or over), convulsions occurred early in therapy in 17. Other common causes of convulsions had been eliminated as far as possible. The incidence of convulsions was related to the degree of uraemia and acidaemia present on admission and not related to the sodium concentration. It is concluded that hypernatraemia, within the range studied, is not an important cause of infantile seizures unless oth...

AIMS To evaluate the incidence of retinal haemorrhages after convulsions in children. PATIENTS AND METHODS All children who required hospital admission after an episode of convulsions were included in the study. Complete neurological and ocular examinations, including ophthalmoscopy, were undertaken within 48 hours of hospital admission. RESULTS Thirty three children were examined according...

Sir,—May I offer some comments on the article by Drury and Gilbertson? (Brir. J. Anaesth. (1970), 42, 1021). (1) A likely cause of the hyperpyrexia is the combination of pediidine and atropine in conjunction with anaesthesia. Pediidine potentiates atropine and probably atropine potentiates pethidine. Pethidine is not needed for premedication, and probably can be dispensed with safely. (2) It is...