Apparent life threatening events with serious sequelae in infants and young children

Between January 1982 and June 1989 in South Australia 19 infants under 2 years of age have hadserious sequelae following an apparent life threatening event (ALTE) for which no cause could be identified. Thirteen of these children have died, four survive with severe hypoxic damage, one has normal psycho‐motor development and epilepsy, and another has mental retardation and strabismus. Study of these infants suggests heterogeneity in the cause of both sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and ALTE, and occasional links between the two.