Hello and welcome to the Zero to Finals podcast.

My name is Tom and in this episode I'm going to be going through Apnea of Prematurity.

If you want to follow along with written notes on this topic, you can follow along at

0.0.0.com slash apnea or in the neonatology section of the zero definals pediatrics book.

So let's get straight into it.

Apnea are defined as periods where breathing stops spontaneously for more than 20 seconds.

It could also be shorter periods with oxygen desaturations or bradycardias.

Apnea can occur in neonates of all gestational ages. They are often accompanied by a period of bradicardia, which is a slow heart rate.

Apnea are very common in premature neonates.

They occur in almost all babies less than 28 weeks gestation. The incidence

decreases with increased gestational age. And in term infants, apnea usually indicate

underlying pathology. Let's talk about the causes. Appnia occurred due to immaturity of the autonomic nervous system

that controls respiration and heart rate. This system is more immature in premature neonates.

Apnea are often a sign of developing illnesses such as infections, anemia, airway obstruction, which may be positional depending on how the

baby's head is positioned, central nervous system pathology such as seizures or hemorrhage,

gastroesophageal reflux, and neonatal abstinence syndrome where the neonate is withdrawing from medication that the mother was

taking during pregnancy. Let's talk about management. Neonatal units attach apnea monitors to

premature babies and these make a sound when an apnea is occurring. Tactile stimulation can be used to prompt the baby to restart breathing.

Intravenous caffeine can be used to prevent apnea and bradycardia in babies with recurrent

episodes. And episodes will settle as the baby grows and develops. So thanks for listening to this

episode on apnea of Prematurity.

A big thank you to Harry Watchman for perfectly editing this podcast.

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