1 Department of Pediatrics, State University of New York, Upstate Medical Center, 750 East Adams Street, Syracuse, New York 13210
In the July 1975 issue of Pediatrics, the commentary "The Apnea Monitor Business," written by Bergman et al,1 seriously fails to achieve conceptual clarity and objectivity. The authors are noted for their scientific contributions as well as providing leadership in increasing our awareness of the sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). However, in this commentary they appear to have allowed their personal involvements and commitments to obscure several important conceptual issues. In the sections to follow, I will reexamine some of the issues discussed by Bergman et al. in regard to (1) the abuse and use of monitoring, (2) the distinctiveness of SIDS as a diagnostic category, (3) the "theory of the month club," and (4) the "near-miss" SIDS concept.