Objective:
To determine what child restraints would accommodate infants with Pierre Robin sequence who often require special attention in motor vehicle travel since microagnathia usually requires a prone position to keep the infant's airway open.
Research Design:
Dynamic testing and clinical trial.
Setting:
An Indiana children's hospital providing primary and tertiary care.
Patients:
Four patients with Pierre Robin sequence are described to illustrate use of the modified infant car seat and the appropriateness of the car bed restraints for meeting requirements for prone positioning during travel.
Selection Procedures:
Convenience sample.
Interventions:
Selected restraints were loaned to families through a clinical setting until the patient was able to use a conventional child restraint.
Measurements and Results:
Three child restraint systems were determined to accommodate the prone position necessary to keep the airway open for children with Pierre Robin sequence. Dynamic crash testing demonstrated the crashworthiness of an infant car seat modified to allow for prone positioning. Through a clinical trial, two car bed restraints were also found to provide safe prone positioning of infants.
Conclusions:
To enable safe transportation for infants with Pierre Robin sequence, health care providers can direct parents to appropriate resources for travel and can monitor the airway and oxygenation of the infant with Pierre Robin sequence before hospital discharge.(Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 1994;148:301-305)