[The value of continuous respiration monitoring in the early diagnosis of potentially life-threatening diseases in newborn infants].

In 1983, 1 466 newborn children were monitored with the help of "apnea mattresses" during hospitalization in the Klinikum Steglitz. Sixteen children were transferred to the Pediatric Clinic for further diagnosis because of pathological respiratory rate patterns. Fourteen of those children had pathological findings with a predominance of infectious problems. Major health disorders in newborns seem to announce themselves, among other things, by an irregular breathing pattern. An early diagnosis of it is possible with the help of continuous respiratory monitoring.