False alarms in the nursery

Abstract

British police no longer answer burglar-alarm calls with enthusiasm. Who can blame them? Statistics indicate that 98.8% of automatic burglar-alarm calls are false. It is estimated that false alarms are costing British taxpayers $36 million a year.1 What connection does this observation have with pediatrics? The article by Kelly et al. in this issue (p. 511) recommends home monitoring with apnea alarms to perhaps abort the sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) in a group of infants judged to be at risk. I can't help but wonder about the "cost" of false alarms in this situation and in the intensive care nursery, where their use is universal.