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Infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia have a high incidence of sudden, unexplained death in the postneonatal period; yet the cause of these deaths is unknown. It was hypothesized that infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia, thought to be well oxygenated based on awake Pao₂ values, would have clinically unsuspected arterial oxygen desaturation during sleep and that these would correlate with the severity of pulmonary function abnormalities. The infants studied were 14 with bronchopulmonary dysplasia, 15 who were preterm, had no bronchopulmonary dysplasia, but did have neonatal respiratory distress syndrome, and eight who were full term and used for control at 37 to 45 weeks postconception. Continuous noninvasive monitoring of oxygenation (arterial oxygen saturation [Sao₂, pulse oximetry] and transcutaneous oxygen tension was performed during sleep, wakefulness, and feeding. Greater than …