Outcome of preterm infants who suffered neonatal apnoeic attacks.

Thirty infants of less than 31 weeks post-menstrual age were monitored for apnoea using routine medical equipment and intermittent 24-h pneumocardiograms. These infants were examined again between 16 and 36 months of age. Full physical and ophthalmological examinations were carried out as well as audiometry and assessment using the Griffiths mental developmental scales. Twenty-five of these infants had suffered apnoeic attacks and two of these infants had an abnormal developmental quotient. Neither sensorineural deafness of retinopathy of prematurity were detected in the children who suffered apnoeic episodes. The poor prognosis which has been associated with neonatal apnoea may not apply to those infants without other serious neonatal problem.