Cyanotic attacks in newborn infants.

By the term 'cyanotic attacks in newborn infants' I mean sudden attacks of cyanosis, lasting from a few moments up to half an hour, in children whose colour was previously normal, and whose colour returns to normal in atmospheric air after the attack. I do not include the sudden development of cyanosis in a baby who remains blue until death. In an extensive search of the literature I was unable to find any paper on the subject, though a number of papers concerning cyanosis or other neonatal problems mention briefly the occurrence of short periods of cyanosis. I could not find the term 'cyanotic attacks' or 'blue attacks' in the index of any of 14 recent British and American text-books of paediatrics: yet every midwife and every paediatrician responsible for the care of newborn babies is fully conversant with the frequency and alarming nature of these attacks. The most comprehensive statement about cyanotic attacks was that by Crosse and Young (1954). They wrote that the attacks