The incidence of SIDS is 4-10 times higher than the general population for preterm infants and products of multiple gestation. Between January 1990 and December 1994, 211 infants born prematurely of multiple gestation with birthweight range 750-1860 gm were followed in the Neonatal High Risk Clinic. They were referred if they required home oxygen, home monitoring for apnea of prematurity with or without methylxanthines, or significant gastroesophageal reflux (GER). All of the infants had hospital pre-discharge evaluations with event recordings and/or multichannel oxipneumocardiograms. The infants were seen by a Neonatologist at least monthly, until off home monitoring, then at 6 months and 1 year of age. Telephone contact and 24-hour beeper availability was provided for parents. Table

Table 1

Two infants died with the following diagnoses: One infant with respiratory failure secondary to viral pneumonia,and the other with dehydration and hyperkalemia. There were no SIDS deaths in this group of patients, thus far, the incidence is 0%.

Clearly close follow-up and monitoring of these high risk infants contributed to the decrease in incidence of SIDS.