The plantar response in normal newborn infants.
The neonatal plantar response has been reported as extensor in 90% of newborns and flexor in 93% of newborns, leading to uncertainty about its reliability and significance. To determine the normal neonatal plantar response we examined 349 healthy newborn infants, > 32 weeks gestation within 24 hours of birth. A supramaximal noxious stimulus was applied in a standardized manner to the lateral plantar surface of each foot. The plantar response was extensor in 90%, equivocal in 7%, and flexor in 3%. With proper physiologic technique, the normal neonatal plantar response is extensor.
Jaynes
M E
ME
Department of Neurology, West Virginia University, Morgantown 26505-9180, USA.
Gingold
M K
MK
Hupp
A
A
Mullett
M D
MD
Bodensteiner
J B
JB
D005528:Foot / Q000294:innervation*; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D012026:Reflex, Stretch / Q000502:physiology