Abstract
Using Hewlett-Packard's cardiorespirograph 80200 A, cardiorespirographic (CRG) patterns of 380 preterm and term infants were studied during neonatal period. Selected cases of two-year period (1983-1984) presented various paroxysmal states in early life (e.g. apnoea, seizures, jerks, multiple sighs, bradycardia, jitteriness). We compared early CRG patterns with the final diagnosis at discharge of these infants or with their post-mortem findings and we found out that the CRG patterns in early life could in many cases be of important prognostic value. The group of the infants with patterns of apnoea and sim= ultaneous bradycardia (the so called appropriate diving reflex) which are typical for idiopathical apnoea of prematurity have a good prognosis when properly treated with xanthine derivatives. The CRG patterns of silent tracing, comb-like bradycardia, cluster breathing or Cheyne-Stokes’ respiration indicate usually poor prognosis while the further diagnostic procedures in our cases have shown mainly gross abnormalities of the central nervous system. In the third group we observed CRG patterns of excessive periodic breathing, multiple sighs and brady= cardia without apnoea, which are highly suggestive for primary cause of metabolic derangement and on the present possibilities of successful longterm treatment.
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Neubauer, D., Erjavec, M. PROGNOSTIC VALUE OF THE CARDIORESPIROGRAPHIC PATTERNS IN EARLY LIFE. Pediatr Res 19, 1087 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198510000-00118
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198510000-00118
