Management of an infant with an apparent life-threatening event.

Our clinical experience agrees with most of the recent literature that infants with an apparent life-threatening event (ALTE) form a heterogeneous entity. A specific medical or surgical cause for the event could be found in 61% of the cases. Only 14% of the infants with an apparently severe event entered a home monitoring program. The other infants were treated whenever appropriate. All infants survived the first year of life. Home monitoring was shown to require continuous assistance to the parents. The follow-up of the infants up to 10 years after the ALTE reveals no neurodevelopmental abnormality in most of the infants. A systematic exclusional study of the infants with an ALTE, together with appropriate treatment programs, could thus provide the possibility of a good survival for most infants.