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Sudden unexpected infant death syndrome in Ribeirão Preto, Brazil
1Patology Department, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brasil. lcperes@fmrp.usp.br
Insights
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) remains a leading cause of infant mortality. This study identified 10 unexplained infant deaths in Brazil with SIDS-like characteristics, highlighting a need for greater awareness.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Forensic Pathology
- Public Health
Background:
- Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is a primary cause of mortality in infants in developed nations.
- There is a notable scarcity of SIDS research within Brazilian and Latin American literature, indicating limited awareness among healthcare professionals.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate and classify potential Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) cases among infants under one year old.
- The study aimed to analyze autopsies performed at the Serviço de Verificação de Obitos do Interior (SVOI) in Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil, between 1987 and 1990.
Main Methods:
- A retrospective analysis of autopsy records for infants under one year of age from SVOI.
- Focus on unexpected deaths where autopsy findings were inconclusive, with complete organ sampling.
Main Results:
- Out of 369 autopsies, 25 were unexpected deaths; 16 remained unexplained post-autopsy.
- Ten cases (7 male, 3 female, average age 1.7 months) met the criteria for SIDS-like characteristics.
- Autopsy diagnoses included aspiration (8), SIDS (1), and undetermined (1), with histological confirmation lacking for aspiration.
Conclusions:
- Ten unexpected and unexplained infant deaths exhibited characteristics consistent with SIDS.
- These cases should be classified as Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) due to their presentation.
- The findings underscore the need for increased recognition and study of SIDS in the Brazilian context.
Context:
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is the leading cause of death in the first year of life in developed countries. Brazilian and Latin American literature lack studies on the subject, which is largely unknown among health workers.
Objective:
To identify cases that could be classified as SIDS among children of less than one year of age submitted to autopsy at the Serviço de Verificação de Obitos do Interior (SVOI), in Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil. A retrospective analysis of all autopsies from SVOI in this age group from January 1987 to December 1990 was done.
Results:
There were 369 autopsies of which 344 (93.2%) deaths were expected and 25 (6.8%) unexpected. From the 25 unexpected cases 16 (64%) deaths could not be explained after autopsy and from these cases only 10 were eligible for the study because they had full organ sampling. There were 7 males and 3 females and the age at death ranged from 1 to 3 months (average: 1.7 months). Two were found dead, 3 died at home, 4 died on the way to hospital and 1 died while being fed. Autopsy diagnoses were aspiration (8 cases), SIDS (1 case) and undetermined (1 case). Aspiration was not confirmed by histology and the only findings were mild pulmonary edema, subcapsular petechiae and intraparenchymatous hemorrhage in thymus.
Conclusion:
That there were 10 cases of unexpected and unexplained deaths of children less than 1 year-old during the evaluated period with characteristics similar to SIDS which should therefore be classified as such.