The clinical utility of event recording

In summary, event recording is a cost-effective means of obtaining objective evidence about a baby's cardiorespiratory patterns at home. It is particularly useful in joint decisionmaking at the time of discharge if parents (or clinicians) remain anxious about the status of a child. Event recording is also indicated in the followup of families where there are multiple or questionable reports of serious events at home. In such instances it may clarify whether symptoms are worthy of concern, and may play a role in problem resolution. Monitors are now available that continuously record events and compliance (for example, the E-link system produced by Corometrics Medical Systems, Inc., Wallingford, Connecticut). Such monitors will reduce parental anxiety, facilitate more prompt diagnosis and treatment of genuine disease states, and make possible the further exploration of relationships between parental anxiety and symptom reporting. Although there are technical trade-offs with such monitors (for example, shorter battery life) and higher personnel costs associated with the transcription of recordings, the total length of monitoring and the need for rehospitalization or evaluation of symptoms may be decreased, thus making such monitors cost effective.