Undetected apnea and bradycardia in infants.
Despite routine monitoring, a number of prolonged apneic and bradycardic episodes were undetected in a group of infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Sixty-one infants were evaluated by 12-hour pneumocardiograms at a post-conceptional age of 35 +/- 3 (SD) weeks. Nursing documentation failed to detect 11 infants with prolonged apnea and bradycardia. Three of these infants were not detected in spite of increased awareness following in-service education. Such a lack of documentation may lead to improper medical management of infants at risk for pathologic apnea and suggests the need for more accurate documentation at the time of discharge.
Graff
M
M
Department of Pediatrics, UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.
Soriano
C
C
Rovell
K
K
Hiatt
I M
IM
Hegyi
T
T
D001049:Apnea / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D001919:Bradycardia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007235:Infant, Premature, Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D007363:Intensive Care Units, Neonatal; D008297:Male; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic / Q000379:methods; D012307:Risk Factors; D013398:Sudden Infant Death / Q000453:epidemiology