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Determining the prevalence of sudden and unexplained death in childhood (SUDC): a national Australian perspective

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Abstract

Sudden unexplained death in childhood (SUDC) is defined as the unexplained death of a child over the age of 12 months. The National Coronial Information System (NCIS) Australia was used to access data for deaths of children aged 1 to 4 years over the period 2010 to 2014. Cases were classified as those in which the cause of death was determined and those in which the child died suddenly and unexpectedly, and the cause of death remained undetermined. Categorical information was extracted for each case to determine risk factors associated with the cause of death. The overall rate of death in Australian children aged 1 to 4 years and for whom coronial data was available from 2010 to 2014 was 9.69/100,000 children. A cause of death was determined in 87% of cases with the average rate of death in this group being 8.49/100,000. Death remained undetermined in 13% of cases. The study determined that the SUDC rate in Australian children aged 1 to 4 years was 0.02/100,000. However, this rate may be as high as 0.40/100,000 children should further investigation be undertaken. These children tended to be 18–20 months of age and male, with death occurring primarily while prone during a sleep period in cooler months, thus having similar characteristics to sudden infant death syndrome.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to acknowledge the support of the Cooper Trewin Memorial SUDC Research Fund, the National Coronial Information System (NCIS) and the Department of Justice and Community Safety who manage the NCIS. We also acknowledge the Victorian Government’s state infrastructure program.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Vic, Australia

    Jhodie R. Duncan & Roger W. Byard

  2. Adelaide Medical School, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia

    Jhodie R. Duncan & Roger W. Byard

  3. Research Unit, Latrobe Regional Hospital, Traralgon, Vic, Australia

    Jhodie R. Duncan

Authors
  1. Jhodie R. Duncan
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  2. Roger W. Byard
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Contributions

Dr. Jhodie Duncan conceptualized and designed the study, accessed the NCIS database and consolidated the raw data, carried out the initial analysis, drafted the initial manuscript and reviewed and revised the manuscript. Professor Roger Byard designed the study, assisted with study parameters, confirmed initial case diagnosis and reviewed and revised the manuscript for intellectual content. Both authors approve the finial manuscript as submitted and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jhodie R. Duncan.

Ethics declarations

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the following institutional and/or national research committees (NCIS Research Committee (M0382), Victorian Department of Justice Human Research Ethics Committee (CF/16/19565), Western Australian Coronal Ethics Committee, Coroner’s Court of Victoria Research Committee and University of Melbourne Ethics Committee (1748597)) and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Conflict of interest

Funding bodies had no involvement in the design, analysis and decision to publish. There are no conflicts of interest or financial disclosures in this work.

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Duncan, J.R., Byard, R.W. Determining the prevalence of sudden and unexplained death in childhood (SUDC): a national Australian perspective. Int J Legal Med 135, 793–800 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-020-02445-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-020-02445-3

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