September 1, 1976Circulation129 citationsOpen Access
View Full PaperPotential role of QT interval prolongation in sudden infant death syndrome.
Structured PICO
Is QT interval prolongation associated with a familial risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)?
P
Population
42 sets of parents who had at least one infant with sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), along with siblings of infants with SIDS and one infant with 'near-miss' SIDS.
I
Intervention
Electrocardiography screening for QT interval prolongation
O
Outcome
Presence of QT interval prolongationsurrogate
QT interval prolongation may be a genetically transmitted cardiac abnormality that plays a role in a considerable proportion of sudden and unexpected infant deaths.
Abstract
To investigate the possibility that a genetically transmitted cardiac abnormality is involved in the genesis of the sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), 42 sets of parents who had at least one infant with SIDS were studied by electrocardiography. Prolongation of the QT interval was present in at least one member of 11 (26%) sets of parents. In families in which QT interval prolongation was found in a parent, prolonged QT interval was also present in 39% of the siblings of infants with SIDS, suggesting an autosomal dominant pattern of inheritance. In addition, an infant with "near-miss" SIDS showed marked prolongation of the QT interval. Thus, our data suggest that prolonged QT interval may play a role in a considerable proportion of sudden and unexpected infant deaths. However, definitive confirmation of the relation between QT interval prolongation and SIDS will require large prospective investigations.