Apnoea monitors and sudden infant death.

As the result of numerous publications in the scientific and lay press, increasing numbers of parents who have previously experienced a sudden infant death or whose infants have experienced apnoeic or cyanotic episodes often, perhaps inappropriately, called 'near miss' events are anxious to acquire apnoea monitors in the belief that these may reduce the risk of subsequent sudden death. The aim of this statement is to review the evidence for and against the use of monitors and to provide guidelines on the management and support for families who are issued with these devices, based on the consensus opinion of both the Scientific Committee of the Foundation for the Study of Infant Death and the British Paediatric Respiratory Group. It is hoped that this statement will provide practical advice for paediatricians, general practitioners, district community physicians, health visitors, and midwives. We consider it most important that parents, who are likely to seek information from many nursing and medical sources, are given consistent advice which is based on current medical knowledge. Throughout this report the term apnoea is used in the wide sense to include both cessation of breathing movements (central apnoea) or cessation of air flow with continuing movements (obstructive apnoea) with or without pallor or cyanosis.