This is the fi rst clinical practice guideline from the American Academy of Pediatrics that specifi cally applies to patients who have experienced an apparent life-threatening event (ALTE). This clinical practice guideline has 3 objectives. First, it recommends the replacement of the term ALTE with a new term, brief resolved unexplained event (BRUE). Second, it provides an approach to patient evaluation that is based on the risk that the infant will have a repeat event or has a serious underlying disorder. Finally, it provides management recommendations, or key action statements, for lower-risk infants. The term BRUE is defi ned as an event occurring in an infant younger than 1 year when the observer reports a sudden, brief, and now resolved episode of ≥1 of the following: (1) cyanosis or pallor; (2) absent, decreased, or irregular breathing; (3) marked change in tone (hyper-or hypotonia); and (4) altered level of responsiveness. A BRUE is diagnosed only when there is no explanation for a qualifying event after conducting an appropriate history and physical examination. By using this defi nition and framework, infants younger than 1 year who present with a BRUE are categorized either as (1) a lower-risk patient on the basis of history and physical examination for whom evidence-based recommendations for evaluation and management are offered or (2) a higher-risk patient whose history and physical examination suggest the need for further investigation and treatment but for whom recommendations are not offered. This clinical practice guideline is intended to foster a patient-and family-centered approach to care, reduce unnecessary and costly medical interventions, improve patient outcomes, support implementation, and provide direction for future research. Each key action statement indicates a level of evidence, the benefi t-harm relationship, and the strength of recommendation.
A new method that permits the measurement of adult‐type maximal expiratory flow‐volume curves and fractional lung volumes in sedated infants was recently described. The purpose of this study was to define the normal range for these new measures of pulmonary function in infants and young children. Measurements of forced expiratory flows and fractional lung volume were made on 35 occasions in 22 children (ages 3–120 weeks) without respiratory disease. Maximal expiratory flow‐volume curves were measured by the raised lung volume, thoracoabdominal compression technique. Functional residual capacity (FRC) was measured plethysmographically. Measurements of total lung capacity (TLC), residual volume (RV), FRC, forced vital capacity (FVC), and forced expiratory flows at 25, 50, 75, 85, and between 25% and 75% of expired FVC (FEF25, FEF50, FEF75, FEF85, and FEF25–75, respectively) all increased in relation to infant length (P < 0.001). RV/TLC, FRC/TLC, and FEF25–75/FVC declined in relation to increasing length (P < 0.001). The forced expiratory flow and fractional lung volume measurements using this method were similar to previously reported estimates using other methods. These estimates represent a reasonable reference standard for infants and young children with respiratory problems. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2000;30:215–227. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
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