Ventilatory pattern following diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis immunization in infants at risk for sudden infant death syndrome
T. G. Keens, S. L. Ward, E. P. Gates, D. I. Andree and L. D. Hart
To evaluate the effects of diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP) immunization
on the ventilatory pattern during sleep in infants at increased risk for
sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), we performed overnight pneumograms
(recordings of ventilatory pattern and electrocardiogram) on 30 control
infants, 46 infants with unexplained apnea, and 33 subsequent siblings of
SIDS victims the night before and the night following a DTP immunization.
Pneumograms were quantitated for total sleep time, longest apnea (in
seconds), total duration of apneas longer than 6 s (in minutes), and total
periodic breathing (in minutes). Following the DTP immunization there was
no significant change in any criterion quantitated on pneumograms from any
group except for a decrease in periodic breathing in the unexplained apnea
group. We conclude that DTP immunization does not increase abnormalities of
the ventilatory pattern as recorded by the pneumogram technique in infants
at increased risk for SIDS.
