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Concluding Remarks on Sudden Infant and Perinatal Unexplained Death

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Crib Death - Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)

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Abstract

Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), or crib death, is defined as the sudden death of an infant under one year of age which remains unexplained after a thorough investigation of the case, including the performance of a complete autopsy, examination of the death scene, and a review of the clinical history. SIDS is the most frequent death-causing syndrome occurring during the first year of life, at a death rate of 0.47 per 1,000 births striking one baby in every 1,700–2,000 in the USA. Despite a wide spectrum of proposed theories, its etiology remains uncertain. Since it is a particularly tragic event for a healthy vigorous infant to die suddenly and unexpectedly, it is not surprising that the subject is of great medical and public interest and concern.

A systematic study of the autonomic nervous system and cardiac conduction system performed in a large number of infants and fetuses dying suddenly and unexpectedly, as well as in age-matched controls, was performed. The cardiac and neuropathological findings are described. The relationship between sudden perinatal unexplained death (SPUD) and SIDS are discussed, together with standardized investigational studies to be performed in an autopsy protocol.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Università degli Studi di Milano, Milano, Italy

    Giulia Ottaviani MD, PhD

  2. The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA

    Giulia Ottaviani MD, PhD

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Ottaviani, G. (2014). Concluding Remarks on Sudden Infant and Perinatal Unexplained Death. In: Crib Death - Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-08347-6_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-08347-6_5

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