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Infants who have an apparent life-threatening event (ALTE) historically have been thought to be “near-miss” cases of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). An ALTE is defined as an episode that is frightening to the observer; is characterized by a combination of apnea, color change, change in muscle tone, and choking or gagging; and requires vigorous stimulation for the infant to recover. To further explore the relation between ALTE and SIDS, researchers compared characteristics of 153 ALTE patients (enrolled from 1994 to 1998) who participated in the multicenter Collaborative Home Infant Monitoring Evaluation study and more than 14,000 SIDS cases from five population-based studies conducted during the same period.
The racial and ethnic distri…