440 Archives ofDisease in Childhood 1992; 67: 440-442 Arch Dis Child: first published as 10.1136/adc.67.4_Spec_No.440 on 1 April 1992. Downloaded from Breathing pattern abnormalities in full term asphyxiated newborn infants P Sasidharan Abstract after birth. Infants with clinical seizures were Perinatal asphyxia is a cause of significant excluded from the study. Infants with congenital morbidity among full term infants, but breath- anomalies, congenital infections, and clinically ing abnormalities after an asphyxic insult have proved early onset sepsis were excluded from not been studied. This report details breathing the study. The mean (SD) birth weight was patterns of 16 full term asphyxiated infants, 3365 (260) g at a gestational age of 40 weeks during the first week of life who were studied (range 38-42 weeks). There were 10 boys and by transthoracic impedance pneumocardio- six girls. Sixteen randomly selected full term grams. Pneumocardiograms were abnormal in neonates, also of appropriate size for gestational 69% of infants in the asphyxiated group and age, served as controls (eight boys and eight 13% ofinfants in the control group. Significant girls). Their mean Apgar score at 5 minutes was differences were noted in the incidence of 9-4 (range 9-10), and their mean (SD) birth prolonged apnoea, the percentage of periodic weight was 3310 (315) g at a gestational age of breathing, and in apnoea density. These 39 9 weeks (range 3842). results indicate that there are significant Twelve hour nocturnal transthoracic imped- abnormalities in the breathing pattern of full ance pneumocardiograms wereobtained between term infants, during their first week, after 3 and 7 days of age. These recordings were perinatal asphyxia. Similar abnormalities have made on a cassette tape which was subsequently been described in infants who had experienced analysed on a computer. The computer software 'near miss' sudden infant death syndrome. is programmed to report the following variables: apnoea duration of greater than 15 seconds, of 11-15 seconds, or greater than 5 seconds; Perinatal asphyxia is a cause of significant apnoea density; percentage of periodic breath- morbidity among full term infants. Among the ing; bradycardia; and disorganised breathing. central nervous system manifestations, hypoxic- Apnoea density (A6/D%) is defined as the ischaemic encephalopathy is the major event total duration of apnoeic episodes of 6 seconds that leads to clinical symptoms including or longer divided by total sleep time and seizures.' Many affected infants develop res- multiplied by 100. Bradycardia is defined as piratory failure requiring artificial ventilation heart rate of less than 80 per minute lasting 5 or http://adc.bmj.com/ for a few days. Whether the respiratory failure more seconds. Periodic breathing is defined as is due to the direct effect of asphyxia on the three or more apnoeic spells of 3 seconds or respiratory center or to a global suppression of longer interrupted by 20 seconds or less of neuronal activity from severe hypoxic-ischaemic normal breathing without apnoea; the total encephalopathy is not certain. We have observed duration of periodic breathing is expressed as a several episodes of apnoea not associated with percentage of total sleep time. Disorganised (electroencephalography proved) seizures in full breathing is defined as short apnoeic episodes on October 1, 2021 by guest. Protected copyright. term newborn infants during the postasphyxial accompanied by bradycardia during sleep. Scor- state in the nursery. As the breathing pattern of ing of the pneumocardiogram was carried full term neonates who suffered perinatal out by a computer equipped with software asphyxia has not been studied in the past, the programmed to generate a report (Medical objective was to study their breathing. Signifi- Graphics).2 cant abnormalities in the breathing patterns of The following criteria were used to define these full term asphyxiated newborns was found normal pneumocardiogram results. A pneumo- and the findings reported here. As similar cardiogram is considered normal if there are no abnormalities in breathing are seen- in infants episodes of prolonged apnoea (apnoea lasting who had nearly experienced sudden infant longer than 15 seconds in duration), apnoea death syndrome ('near miss' SIDS), hypoxia density is less than 0 9, and periodic breathing Department of may possibly be the common initiating event is less than 3-5% and there are no episodes of Paediatrics, responsible for such abnormalities. bradycardia nor disorganised breathing. These Medical College of Wisconsin, criteria have been published by others.Y7 All Milwaukee, USA pneumocardiograms recorded on cassette tapes Correspondence to: Materials and methods were analysed the next morning to generate Dr P Sasidharan, Sixteen full term infants of appropriate size for hard copy at a recorder speed of2-4 seconds/mm Division of Neonatology, Box 174, Milwaukee County gestational age and with a history of perinatal of paper. Pneumocardiograms were done at a Medical Center, asphyxia were studied. Asphyxia was defined as mean postnatal age of 4-06 days (range 3-6) in 8700 W Wisconsin Avenue, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53226, an Apgar score of 4 or less at 5 minutes after the control group and 5 days (range 4-7) in the USA. birth and an arterial pH of less than 7-24 with a asphyxiated group. Statistical analyses were Accepted 21 November 1991 base deficit in excess of -10 within 30 minutes carried out by two tailed t tests for individual Breathingpattern abnormalities infull tertn asphyxiated newborn infants 441 Breathing patterns of infants with asphyxia compared with those of controls miss SIDS, infants on home apnoea monitors, siblings of SIDS infants, and those born to Asphyxia Control p Value mothers practising substance abuse during Arch Dis Child: first published as 10.1136/adc.67.4_Spec_No.440 on 1 April 1992. Downloaded from Mean (SD) birth weight (g) 3365 (260) 3310 (315) NS 9 10 12-14 The predictive value of No (%) of infants with prolonged apnoea 5 (31) 0 <0 05 pregnancy.3 Mean (SD) apnoea density 1-41 (0-87) 0-59 (0-26) <0 05 pneumocardiograms in SIDS is very contro- Mean (SD) % periodic breathing 3-12 (0-8) 2-13 (0 67) <0 05 versial.'1'7 Several variables in the pneumo- No (%) with nornal pneumogram 5 (31) 14 (88) <0 05 cardiograms can be analysed. We chose to use prolonged apnoea, percentage of periodic breathing, apnoea density, bradycardia, and variables between the two groups and x2 test disorganised breathing as the variables in the with Yates's correction. study of breathing pattern. All pneumocardio- grams in this study were recorded in the hospital. As computer aided pneumogram scor- Results ing and interpretation reduce the interpersonal Eleven infants (69%) in the asphyxia group had bias involved in the reports, we employed this abnormal pneumocardiogram results and five technique.2 18 infants had normal results. Only two of the 16 None of our non-asphyxiated (control group) infants in the control group had abnormal infants had prolonged apnoea. This is similar to pneumocardiogram results (p<005). Among the reported findings of Kelly et al.4 The infants with abnormal pneumocardiograms, five increased apnoea density noted in two infants in out of 11 (45%) had prolonged apnoea (>15 s); the control group was due to multiple episodes nine out of 11 (82%) had increased apnoea of apnoea of 6-14 seconds' duration. None of density and six out of 11 (55%) had abnormal the infants in either group had obstructive periodic breathing. The two abnormal pneumo- apnoea. The reliability of detection of obstruc- cardiograms in the control group were due to tive apnoea from pneumocardiogram tracings is increased apnoea density, with other parameters debatable. Bradycardia is a usual accompani- being normal. We did not analyse the episodes ment of obstructive apnoea and as we could not of apnoea 11-15 seconds' duration and episodes detect any episodes of bradycardia with chest of periodic breathing per 100 minutes of sleep wall movement, we made the assumption that time. There were no episodes of isolated brady- there were no obstructive apnoea spells. All our cardia or disorganised breathing in either group. infants were breathing spontaneously in room The abnormalities in the breathing pattern seen air when we studied them. There were no among the asphyxiated group were significant episodes of cyanosis in any of our infants. We (p<005) when compared with the control did not monitor the infants with an oximeter to group in the following variables: prolonged record oxygen saturation continuously during apnoea, percentage of periodic breathing, and the study. apnoea density (see table). It is known that preterm infants increased periodicity in the breathing pattern and this is abolished by oxygen administration.'9 Ifperiodic Discussion breathing and subsequent apnoea are due to Breathing patterns of full term asphyxiated mild hypoxia in preterm infants, the effects of http://adc.bmj.com/ newborn infants have not been studied in the acute hypoxia and acidosis as seen in perinatal past. Our results indicate that the breathing asphyxia may last several days. It is possible patterns are abnormal among asphyxiated infants that the observed changes in the breathing during the first week of life, but whether these pattern of these infants may be due to that; but changes are induced by the asphyxia is not our infants were full term and such changes known. It had been reported that apnoea in have not been described in the past. In con- newborn infants is associated with a history of clusion, we have identified abnormalities in the antecedent hypoxia.8 Infants who had near miss breathing pattern of full term asphyxiated on October 1, 2021 by guest. Protected copyright. SIDS were reported to have abnormal breathing newborn infants during the first week of life. patterns identified by pneumograms.3 4 II The duration of the persistence of these abnor- The abnormalities described in those infants are malities in the breathing pattern needs further similar to those which we detected in our group studies in future.