PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - D P Bolton
AU  - B J Taylor
AU  - A J Campbell
AU  - B C Galland
AU  - C Cresswell
TI  - Rebreathing expired gases from bedding: a cause of cot death?
AID  - 10.1136/adc.69.2.187
DP  - 1993 Aug 01
TA  - Archives of Disease in Childhood
PG  - 187--190
VI  - 69
IP  - 2
4099  - http://adc.bmj.com/content/69/2/187.short
4100  - http://adc.bmj.com/content/69/2/187.full
SO  - Arch Dis Child1993 Aug 01; 69
AB  - 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.