Assessment of cardiorespiratory stability using the infant car seat challenge before discharge in preterm infants (

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Preterm infants younger than 37 weeks corrected gestational age are at increased risk for abnormal control of respiration. The infant car seat challenge has been used as a screening tool to ensure cardiorespiratory stability before discharging preterm infants from many hospitals in Canada. While it is clear that infants placed in a car seat are more likely to experience oxygen desaturation and/or bradycardia than when they are supine, neither positioning predicts an adverse neurodevelopmental outcome or mortality post-discharge. A review of the literature yielded insufficient evidence to recommend routine use of the infant car seat challenge as part of discharge planning for preterm infants. This finding has prompted a change in recommendation from a previous Canadian Paediatric Society position statement published in 2000.