Issues in diagnosis following the sudden infant death syndrome intervention campaigns

The fall in numbers of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) deaths in recent years has resulted in questions being asked as to whether changes in the pathological assessment and diagnosis of such cases have influenced reported death rates. Specific concerns have been raised about possible changes in diagnostic criteria, differences in the evaluation of these infants and the possibility of changes in the pathological findings at autopsy. However, no major changes in either diagnostic criteria or in pathological features appear to have occurred, despite some changes in the epidemiological characteristics of cases.