
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, June 24, 1990                   TAG: 9006210232
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: E2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Short

FDA ISSUES ALERT ON SOME BABY MONITORS

Some models of a device designed to warn parents that an infant has stopped breathing may not work, the Food and Drug Administration said Monday.

The device, also used to monitor adults who suffer apnea, is manufactured by Electronic Monitors Inc. of Euless, Texas, the FDA said. Those who suffer from apnea temporarily stop breathing during sleep.

The models involved are RE-134B and Mon-A-Therm Respirate, for those older than 4 years old, and Models RE-134C and RE-134D for infants.

"Some models may fail to signal an alarm," the FDA said in issuing a first-class alert, its most serious health warning. The problem, the agency said, is with a defective time delay switch.

FDA said the company was recalling the 1,583 monitors it distributed. Sixty percent went to hospitals and the rest were sent to home health care agencies that rent or distribute them to the public.

"It is not known how many are still being used by consumers," the FDA said.

by CNB