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. 1993 Aug;69(2):187–190. doi: 10.1136/adc.69.2.187

Rebreathing expired gases from bedding: a cause of cot death?

D P Bolton 1, B J Taylor 1, A J Campbell 1, B C Galland 1, C Cresswell 1
PMCID: PMC1029454  PMID: 8215518

Abstract

The reported association of cot death and sleeping prone could be due to rebreathing of expired gases. A mechanical model simulating the respiratory system of an infant, exhaling warm humidified air with an end tidal carbon dioxide of 5%, has been used to investigate this. Some commonly used bedding materials caused an accumulation of carbon dioxide of 7% to over 10% with the model lying face down. This phenomenon persisted even with the head inclined at 45 degrees, but only on very soft materials, and could be a cause of cot death in a baby unresponsive to asphyxial blood gas changes. A coir fibre mattress allowed complete dispersal of exhalate as did a rubber sheet between any mattress and the covering sheet.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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