Total n (%) | No serious underlying diagnosis | Serious underlying diagnosis | P value | |
Patient characteristics | ||||
Number of patients | 1042 | 963 | 79 | |
Age, days [IQR] | 41 [13, 84] | 43 [14, 86] | 31 [8, 63] | 0.03 |
Sex | 0.91 | |||
Female | 529 (50.8) | 488 (50.7) | 41 (51.9) | |
Male | 513 (49.2) | 475 (49.3) | 38 (48.1) | |
Patient risk factors | ||||
Gestational age | 0.11 | |||
Term (≥37 weeks)/not indicated | 890 (85.4) | 828 (86.0) | 62 (78.5) | |
Late preterm (34–36+ weeks) | 102 (9.8) | 89 (9.2) | 13 (16.5) | |
Moderate preterm (32–33+ weeks) | 26 (2.5) | 25 (2.6) | 1 (1.3) | |
Very preterm (28–31+ weeks) | 24 (2.3) | 21 (2.2) | 3 (3.8) | |
Prematurity (<32 weeks) or corrected <45 weeks* | 180 (17.3) | 159 (16.5) | 21 (26.6) | 0.03 |
Age ≤60 days | 658 (63.1) | 600 (62.3) | 58 (73.4) | 0.05 |
Family history concerning for serious condition | 133 (12.8) | 111 (11.5) | 22 (27.8) | <0.001 |
Social history concerning for abuse | 48 (4.6) | 43 (4.5) | 5 (6.3) | 0.40 |
Abnormal medical history | 320 (30.7) | 288 (29.9) | 32 (40.5) | 0.06 |
Conditions related to prematurity | 128 (12.3) | 113 (11.7) | 15 (19.0) | 0.07 |
Neonatal respiratory disorders | 99 (9.5) | 87 (9.0) | 12 (15.2) | 0.11 |
Gastro-oesophageal reflux or feeding-related conditions | 78 (7.5) | 69 (7.2) | 9 (11.4) | 0.18 |
Jaundice | 77 (7.4) | 68 (7.1) | 9 (11.4) | 0.18 |
Other medical conditions | 97 (9.3) | 89 (9.2) | 8 (10.1) | 0.84 |
BRUE characteristics† | ||||
Abnormal breathing | 686 (65.8) | 626 (65.0) | 60 (75.9) | 0.05 |
Tone change | 607 (58.3) | 558 (57.9) | 49 (62.0) | 0.55 |
Colour change | 514 (49.3) | 472 (49.0) | 42 (53.2) | 0.49 |
Altered responsiveness | 377 (36.2) | 346 (35.9) | 31 (39.2) | 0.55 |
Event duration ≥1 min | 354 (34.0) | 325 (33.7) | 29 (36.7) | 0.62 |
History of similar event | 343 (32.9) | 296 (30.7) | 47 (59.5) | <0.001 |
History of multiple events or event clusters | 325 (31.2) | 285 (29.6) | 40 (50.6) | <0.001 |
CPR performed and indicated | 44 (4.2) | 40 (4.2) | 4 (5.1) | 0.57 |
Higher risk BRUE as defined by the AAP guidelines | 977 (93.8) | 898 (93.3) | 79 (100.0) | 0.01 |
*Defined as per the AAP higher risk BRUE criteria.
†Patients may present with BRUE episodes including multiple characteristics.
AAP, American Academy of Pediatrics; BRUE, brief resolved unexplained event; CPR, cardiopulmonary resuscitation.