HOME UTILIZATION OF INFANT APNEA MONITORS

To investigate the home utilization of apnea monitors, 44 mothers of monitored infants were interviewed by telephone 6 to 8 weeks following discharge from a Level III NICU. Monitoring was prescribed for clinical apnea and bradycardia in 57%, for pneumogram abnormalities in 27%, and for other reasons in 16% of the sample. The infants had a mean gest. age of 32.4 ± 4.1 weeks (± 1 SD) .The mothers were asked if they “always”, “sometimes”, or “never” used the monitor in three situations: (1) at night, (2) during naps, (3) when the infant was out of sight. Ninety-five percent of the mothers reported “always” using the monitor at least at night. Among this group, 34% “always” use the monitor at night only, 25% “always” use it at night plus one other situation and 36% “always” use it in all three situations. Five percent reported that they do not consistently use the monitor in any situation. Chi-square analyses show no significant relationships between use of the monitor and the infant's gest. age, sex, length of hospital stay, maternal age, marital status, number of siblings, farm or city residence, reason for monitoring or socioeconomic status. Compliance with a monitor prescription is difficult to establish due to probable variation in counseling given to parents by physicians, nurses and monitor companies. However, it is clear that many parents do not maintain consistent use of home monitors at times when apnea is possible.