The Significance of the Infant Respiratory Rate

“Respiratory rate in otherwise healthy children changes considerably over the first year of life, decreasing from a mean of approximately 50 breaths per minute in term newborns to approximately 40 breaths per minute at 6 months of age and 30 breaths per minute at 12 months.1820 Counting respiratory rate over the course of 1 minute may be more accurate than measurements extrapolated to 1 minute but observed for shorter periods.21 The absence of tachypnea correlates with the lack of LRTIs or pneumonia (viral or bacterial) in infants.22,23 “*

*Diagnosis and Management of Bronchiolitis, 2007, American Academy of Pediatrics Subcommittee on Diagnosis and Management of Bronchiolitis.

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