Outcome of idiopathic apparent life-threatening events: Infant and mother perspectives

The objective of this study was to determine the neurodevelopmental and tem peramental outcome of infants who suffered an idiopathic apparent life-thre atening event (IALTE) and their mothers' perceptions of such an event, and to compare such infants with a matched group of babies hospitalized for non threatening events. Infants (N = 19) who were hospitalized at a mean age of 2.8 months for an IALTE with no underlying disease and matched controls ho spitalized for an acute nonthreatening illness were sequentially recruited to the study at a mean age of 24 months (SD, 14 months). Physical, neurolog ical, developmental, and temperamental status were assessed. Mothers' stres s was assessed by their salivary cortisol response to the physical examinat ion of their infants and completion of appropriate questionnaires assessing their infants' temperament. The investigators were not blinded to the assi gnment of the infants to each of the study groups. Infants' perceived "difficultness" was positively correlated with the time interval following the event (r = 0.5, P = 0.001), mothers' stress as relat ed to their child (r = 0.4, P = 0.004), and mothers' cortisol response (r = 0.5, P = 0.01) among the study group mothers only. IALTE during early infa ncy was associated with developmentally and neurologically normal outcome i n infancy. We conclude that mothers of infants with IALTE differed in the w ay they perceived their infants' temperament over time, and in their stress response compared to mothers of a control group of hospitalized children w ho had not experienced an IALTE. (C) 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.