PROLONGED TURNOVER RATE OF HYDROCORTISONE IN THE NEWBORN INFANT*

Abstract
Nine human infants showed a slow disappearance of hydrocortisone after the intravenous administration of 25 mg -half-life of 250 - 2185 minutes, average 977. Infants aged 3-9 days showed a half life of 175 minutes. Children between the ages of 1-12 years had values averaging 96 and adults 112 minutes. The slow disappearance in early infancy was not attributable to a lack of glucuronic-acid transferase, since Tetrahydro-E in two infants aged one day had a half-life of 34-48 minutes.