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Arterial oxygen saturation and breathing movements during the first year of life
C F Poets1, V A Stebbens, D P Southall
1Department of Paediatric Clinical Physiology, National Heart & Lung Institute, London, UK.
Insights
Healthy infants show stable breathing patterns and arterial oxygen saturation (SaO2) from 6 weeks to 1 year. Apnoeic pauses and desaturations remain infrequent, with most desaturations following pauses.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Pulmonology
- Neonatal Physiology
- Sleep Studies
Background:
- Infant breathing patterns and oxygenation are critical indicators of health.
- Understanding changes in these parameters during early development is essential for identifying potential issues.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the longitudinal changes in breathing patterns and arterial oxygen saturation in healthy term infants.
- To determine the frequency of apnoeic pauses and desaturations and their relationship to baseline oxygen levels.
Main Methods:
- 12-hour ambulatory recordings of arterial oxygen saturation (SaO2) and breathing movements in 16 healthy term infants.
- Data collection at 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, and 1 year of age.
- Analysis of apnoeic pauses (>= 4s), desaturations (SaO2 <= 80%), and baseline SaO2.
Main Results:
- Median frequencies of apnoeic pauses and desaturations remained stable between 6 weeks and 1 year.
- The majority of desaturations (over 73%) followed an apnoeic pause.
- Baseline SaO2 showed a slight increase between 6 weeks and 3 months, remaining high thereafter.
Conclusions:
- Healthy term infants exhibit consistent breathing patterns and arterial oxygenation from 6 weeks to 1 year.
- Apnoeic pauses and subsequent desaturations do not significantly increase with age in this healthy cohort.
- Findings support the stability of cardiorespiratory regulation in healthy infants during the first year of life.
Abstract:
Sixteen healthy term infants underwent 12 hour tape recordings of arterial oxygen saturation (SaO2)(Nellcor N100 in beat to beat mode) and breathing movements at around 6 weeks, 3 and 6 months of age. Six of these infants had an additional recording at around their first birthday. Recordings were analysed throughout for pauses in breathing movements of greater than or equal to 4 s (apnoeic pauses), episodes in which SaO2 fell to 80% (desaturations), and (only during regular breathing) baseline SaO2. In the 16 infants studied at 6 weeks, 3 and 6 months, the median frequency of both apnoeic pauses (5.6, 5.7, and 6.1/h, respectively) and desaturations (0.7, 0.4 and 0.5/h, respectively) showed little change. The majority of desaturations followed an apnoeic pause (median 73.2, 86.2 and 93.8% of desaturations). The median proportion of apnoeic pauses followed by a desaturation did not change significantly (9.0, 7.5 and 9.1%), despite an increase in the proportion of apnoeic pauses of greater than or equal to 8 s in duration from 2.0% at 6 weeks to 5.3% at 3 months (P less than 0.01). Baseline SaO2 was 97.3% or higher in all recordings. Median baseline SaO2 increased from 99.6 to 99.9% between 6 weeks and 3 months (P less than 0.02) and remained unchanged thereafter. In the subgroup of infants studied also at one year of age, again no significant differences were found with increasing age in the frequency of either apnoeic pauses or desaturations. The data show that in healthy subjects no major changes occur between 6 weeks and 1 year of life in apnoeic pause frequency or arterial oxygenation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)