Infant Apnea

Excerpt

Apnea in infants is the term used to describe episodes of cessation of breathing and may be due to many physiological and pathophysiological processes. Brief periods of apnea that occur in short cycles of 5 seconds to 10 seconds is not pathologic and is referred to as periodic breathing. Periodic breathing is seen predominantly during the age of two to four weeks and resolves by age six months.

Apnea is frequently seen in preterm infants but can occur at any age.

Apnea of prematurity is defined as a sudden cessation of breathing that lasts for at least 20 seconds or is accompanied by bradycardia or oxygen desaturation (cyanosis) in an infant younger than 37 weeks’ gestational age.

Apnea of infancy is defined as “an unexplained episode of cessation of breathing for 20 seconds or longer, or a shorter respiratory pause associated with bradycardia, cyanosis, pallor, and/or marked hypotonia.”

Apnea may be central, obstructive, or mixed.

Central apnea is due to the depressed respiratory center where there is a cessation of output from the central respiratory centers, and there is no respiratory effort.

Obstructive apnea occurs when there is an obstruction to the airway, and respiratory efforts are inadequate to maintain ventilation.

Mixed apnea (a period of central apnea, typically followed by airway obstruction) is the most frequent type among preterm infants.