Sleep position does not appear to influence the risk of extreme cardiorespiratory events in vulnerable infants
- Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, University of Otago Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand
- Correspondence to: Dawn Elder
Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, University of Otago, Wellington, PO Box 7343, Wellington 6242, New Zealand; dawn.elder{at}otago.ac.nz
Commentary on: Lister G, Rybin DV, Colton T, et al. Collaborative Home Infant Monitoring Evaluation (CHIME) Study Group. Relationship between sleep position and risk of extreme cardiorespiratory events. J Pediatr 2012;161:22–5.
Implications for practice and research
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Extreme cardiorespiratory events can be documented during sleep and are more common in immature preterm infants.
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The supine sleep position does not appear to decrease the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) by decreasing the risk of extreme cardiorespiratory events in vulnerable infants.
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Reasons for the physiological advantage of the supine sleep position remain speculative and require ongoing study despite decreases in SIDS death rates in recent years.
Context
Despite the successful worldwide introduction of preventative measures to decrease the risk of infants dying of SIDS the final mechanism of death in these infants has not been fully elucidated. While it has been established that placing infants …
