Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, including details on sids, causes, prevention, statistics.

Apparent life-threatening events and sudden infant death syndrome: comparison of risk factors.

Esani N, Hodgman JE, Ehsani N, Hoppenbrouwers T

University of Southern California, Division of Neonatal Medicine, LAC + USC Medical Center, Women's and Children's Hospital, and Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the risk factors of 153 cases of apparent life-threatening event (ALTE) enrolled in the multicenter Collaborative Home Infant Monitoring Evaluation (CHIME) from 1994 to 1998 with the published risk factors for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). STUDY DESIGN: Trained CHIME interviewers gathered histories of infants with ALTE who met the criteria. The following risk factors were analyzed: male predominance, gestational age, low birth weight, very low birth weight, incidence of small for gestational age (SGA), age at the event, multiparity, maternal age, and smoking. Population-based SIDS studies with >100 deaths, focusing on 1 or more pertinent risk factors and carried out during the decade in which CHIME data were collected, were chosen for comparison. RESULTS: One of the 153 infants with ALTE in this study died during follow-up (0.6%). CHIME ALTE differed significantly from SIDS in 4 respects: fewer infants with low birth weight and SGA at birth, fewer teenage pregnancies, and a younger infant age at ALTE. CONCLUSIONS: Although a number of risk factors for ALTE are similar to those for SIDS, the differences warrant a separate focus on ALTE beyond that on SIDS.

Published 18 February 2008 in J Pediatr, 152(3): 365-70.
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