Neonatal Tremors Caused by Vitamin D Deficiency

Two authors in the pediatrics department at Howard University in Washington, D.C. present two cases of newborn infants who had tremors or “shivers.”

The first infant was born full term via spontaneous vaginal delivery without complications and was exclusively breast-fed. The initial outpatient newborn visit at 6 days of age revealed a healthy neonate. The mother expressed concern that the infant shivered “like he was cold.” She reported that she had seen the shivering in the newborn nursery as well. On day 12 of age, the neonate was seen in follow-up, by which time the shivering had worsened and was more sustained, lasting 2 to 2.5 minutes per episode. The infant then underwent an extensive evaluation at a referral hospital.

The differential …