BMJ 1998;317:675 ( 5 September )

Letters

Hypoxic responses in infants

    Subjecting infants to low oxygen concentrations seems unethical
    Research should contain element of treatment
    No known mechanism links hypoxia and sudden infant death syndrome
    Danger to babies from air travel must be small
    Study methods need to be appropriate
    Public must be warned of weak evidence for risk of serious harm
    Risks associated with hypoxia during flights need to be investigated
    Authors' reply

Subjecting infants to low oxygen concentrations seems unethical

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR---The ethics of Parkins et al's study depend partly on whether there is any potential benefit to the infants from the experiment.1 If parents subject their infant to low oxygen concentrations in an aeroplane they take a risk which is balanced against the benefit of air travel. Unless there is some real prospect of identifying infants at risk and offering useful protection against the sudden infant death syndrome, it seems to me to be unethical to subject those infants to the risk of exposure to low oxygen concentration. The fact that some of the families had previously experinced the loss of a child may have increased the likelihood of compliance. This makes me even more worried about the ethics of the study.

Charles West, General practitioner. 
Church Stretton Medical Centre, Church Stretton, Shropshire SY6 6BL

  1. Parkins KJ, Poets CF, O'Brien LM, Stebbens VA, Southall DP. Effect of exposure to 15% oxygen on breathing patterns and oxygen saturation in infants: interventional study. [With commentary by J Savulescu and V Hughes and authors' reply.] BMJ 1998; 316: 887-894[Abstract/Free Full Text]. (21 March.)

Research should contain element of treatment

EDITOR---Parkins et al and Hughes, the chairman of the local ethics research committee, in their reply to the commentary by Savulescu, repeat that the . . . [Full text of this article]
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Relevant Articles

Effects of 15% oxygen on breathing patterns and oxygenation in infants
Anthony D Milner
BMJ 1998 316: 873-874. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Effect of exposure to 15% oxygen on breathing patterns and oxygen saturation in infants: interventional study • Commentary: Safety of participants in non-therapeutic research must be ensured • Commentary: Ethical approval of study was warranted • Authors' reply
K J Parkins, C F Poets, L M O'Brien, V A Stebbens, D P Southall, Julian Savulescu, Vivian Hughes, K J Parkins, C F Poets, L M O'Brien, V A Stebbens, and D P Southall
BMJ 1998 316: 887-894. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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