Home monitoring in children at risk of sudden infant death.

Electronic home monitoring has been advocated as a means of preventing sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Special emphasis has been placed on apnoea monitoring. The evaluation of the preventive aspect of home monitoring is exceedingly difficult considering the ethical and statistical implications. Major problems arise as the monitoring is done by the parents in a situation different from the one in the intensive care unit. The relative advantages of pulse oximetry and inductance plethysmography are outlined in comparison with other techniques like impedance pneumography, apnoea mattress and apnoea capsule.