title: Small upper airway in near-miss sudden infant death syndrome infants and their families.
abstract: 6 infants (index cases) from five different families had a near-miss sudden infant death syndrome event between 3 and 12 weeks of age and had polygraphically documented apnoeas during sleep. 4 of their siblings had died of SIDS. The index cases, their 4 living siblings, 10 parents, and 8 grandparents underwent respiratory studies during sleep. All the adults and 3 index cases had cephalometric X-rays. 2 index cases underwent volume computerised tomographic scans when awake and during sleep. Index cases had mixed and obstructive sleep apnoea. Several family members had obstructive sleep apnoea; cephalometric X-rays also showed small upper airways, particularly behind the base of the tongue. A small posterior airway at the level of the tongue may be a familial risk factor for apnoea of infancy.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Guilleminault
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Heldt
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Powell
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Riley
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006928:Hyoid Bone / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic; D010375:Pedigree; D010614:Pharynx / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D012891:Sleep Apnea Syndromes / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D012895:Sleep, REM / Q000502:physiology; D013398:Sudden Infant Death; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed