Episodic complete airway obstruction in infants.

Four infants with episodic silent complete obstructed apnea are described. All had central sleep apnea, three had hypoventilation, and none had obstructive apnea observed on polygraphic recordings. Two infants were siblings of a sudden infant death syndrome victim and one was a sibling of a "near miss" infant. One infant died as a result of a prolonged episode that began while she was awake. In two infants apnea has been controlled with theophylline administration and in the third infant resolution of the episode was temporally related to atropine administration.