Thach

• M.D. at Washington University School of Medicine
• B.A. at Princeton University

News Stories & Tip Sheets:

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Preventing hazards for infants Hazards of using crib bumper pads outweigh their benefits Sept. 18, 2007 -- Although bumper pads are theoretically designed to prevent injury to a baby while in the crib or bassinet, the risk of accidental death or injury to an infant from using them outweighs their possible benefits, according to a new study by pediatric researchers at the School of Medicine. In the study, which appears in the September 2007 issue of The Journal of Pediatrics, the researchers reviewed three U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission databases for deaths related to crib bumpers and crib-related injuries from 1985-2005.

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Safety Alert: Crib Bumpers Parenting Feb. 1, 2008 -- WUSTL pediatrics professor and lead author Bradley Thach comments on an injury data analysis of crib bumpers from the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The study reported that firm pads can suffocate an infant by trapping his head in the space between the bumper and the mattress.

Thach also recently published a study that found that infants who share beds with siblings or adults are also at a greater risk for SIDS. Thach's lab studies infant apnea, the development of breathing control, SIDS and infant sleeping physiology. Most recently his team has undertaken epidemiologic studies related to sudden unexpected deaths in infants.

Thach's laboratory is involved in the following newborn medicine studies:

Control of Breathing in Recovery From Sleep Apnea: The team aims to find out why small infants frequently stop breathing with intermittent blockage of the airway in the throat during sleep and/or feedings. They have studied infants during sleep to find out how maturation affects responses.

Swaddling: Swaddling infants is accepted as a standard care. In spite of this, effects on physiologic parameters are largely unknown. Furthermore, swaddling may fascilitate acceptance of the supine (back) sleep position in infants who perfer prone (stomach) sleeping. The team has recorded infants sleep state, spontaneous arousals, heart-rate, respiration and 02 saturation in supine sleeping infants with and without a swaddle.

Responses to Acute Hypoxia: These studies relate to spontaneous recovery from hypoxic apnea in mice. Also, parallel studies of similar human infant responses are ongoing using home monitor apnea recordings.

Epidemiologic Studies of Sudden Infant Deaths: Studies of death scene events in collaboration with local medical examiners are in progress. Other studies using vital statistics data are also in the works.