ABSTRACT

In 2016, the cases formerly known as “Apparent life-threatening events” (ALTE) have been renamed to “Brief Resolved Unexplained Events” (BRUE) by the American Academy of Pediatrics. The diagnosis of BRUE in infants is made when infants experience: a brief episode, that is resolved, which remains unexplained after the history and physical examination, and includes an event characterized by cyanosis or pallor; absent, decreased, or irregular breathing; marked change in tone; or altered level of responsiveness. Low and high-risk events can be identified epidemiologically. To be designated lower risk, the following criteria should be met; older than 60 days with birth at ≥32 weeks gestation, no previous event, a duration less than 1 minute, no need for resuscitation by trained medical personnel and no concerning historical features or physical examination findings. Low-risk events do not require hospitalization, further research, or home monitoring. Conversely, infants with high-risk events should be admitted to hospital and monitored.