OBJECTIVES We sought to determine the yield of cardiac testing and to identify predictors of cardiac disease in infants with an apparent life-threatening event (ALTE). DESIGN Retrospective longitudinal cohort study. SETTING Paediatric hospital providing primary and tertiary care that is part of an integrated healthcare system. PATIENTS Infants hospitalised for an ALTE from 1999 to 2003. ...

Benzodiazepines are one of the most frequently prescribed psychotropic drugs during pregnancy. Despite the fact that these drugs have been in use for a long time, there is still debate about the safety for the developing fetus and neonate. We present a case of a newborn with an apparent life-threatening event shortly after birth following maternal temazepam use during labour and advise to be re...

Joel S. Tieder, MD, MPH, FAAP, Joshua L. Bonkowsky, MD, PhD, FAAP, Ruth A. Etzel, MD, PhD, FAAP, Wayne H. Franklin, MD, MPH, MMM, FAAP, David A. Gremse, MD, FAAP, Bruce Herman, MD, FAAP, Eliot S. Katz, MD, FAAP, Leonard R. Krilov, MD, FAAP, J. Lawrence Merritt II, MD, FAAP, Chuck Norlin, MD, FAAP, Jack Percelay, MD, MPH, FAAP, Robert E. Sapién, MD, MMM, FAAP, Richard N. Shiffman, MD, MCIS, FAAP...

When a sufficient amount of choice food is available, labora tory rats, like many humans, eat enough to become more or less obese. As a consequence, the life span of rats feeding ad libitum, like the life span of their human counterparts, is presumably shortened. This inference is supported by the repeated findings of McCay and his associates (†̃42 a, b; †̃43) that the life span of rats can b...

Apparent Life-Threatening Events (ALTEs), as defined by the National Institutes of Health, encompass all the findings hitherto attributed to “Shaken Baby Syndrome” (SBS), and may follow routine vaccination. Vaccines may also induce vitamin C deficiency (Barlow’s disease), especially in formula-fed infants or infants whose mothers smoke. This could account for some of the changes seen in these i...

OBJECTIVES To determine how often the pediatric otolaryngology service is involved in the initial care of infants with an apparent life-threatening event (ALTE), to assess the usefulness of bronchoscopy and laryngoscopy in diagnosing the underlying etiology, and to describe the long-term airway outcomes and whether these patients were seen by the pediatric otolaryngology service over a 5-year f...

OBJECTIVE To describe the aetiology and outcome of apparent life threatening events (ALTE) presenting to an emergency department (ED), and to assess the value of an initial investigation protocol. DESIGN A 12 month prospective study of infants under 1 year of age who presented to a children's hospital ED after an ALTE. A standardised history sheet and initial investigation protocol were used....

A comprehensive, detailed history and physical examination with pulse oximetry and nondilated funduscopy (to look for traumatic retinal hemorrhage) helps to determine the underlying etiology of an ALTE in 70 percent of infants. (Strength of Recommendation [SOR]: C, based on case series). Initial diagnostic evaluation should include 12-lead electrocardiography (ECG); blood gas analysis; chest ra...