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Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy (SUDI), and Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood (SUDC)

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Forensic Pathology of Infancy and Childhood

Abstract

This chapter is a brief review of sudden unexpected death in infancy (SUDI), sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), and sudden unexplained death in childhood (SUDC). Sudden unexpected death occurs in infants and young children alike. In both age groups, establishing the cause and manner of death often presents a difficult but important challenge. Accurate determination of the cause and manner of sudden unexpected death of infants and toddlers alike requires comprehensive review of the medical and family history, reconstruction of the death scene with evaluation of the circumstances of death, and thorough autopsy examination with extensive ancillary studies. If the cause of death is not established after comprehensive postmortem evaluation, then it generally defaults to SIDS in infants and SUDC in children beyond the first birthday.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathology, Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego, 3020 Children’s Way MC5007, San Diego, CA, 92123, USA

    Henry Krous

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  1. Henry Krous
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Correspondence to Henry Krous .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Fulton County Medical Examiner's Office, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

    Kim A. Collins

  2. University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

    Roger W. Byard

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Krous, H. (2014). Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy (SUDI), and Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood (SUDC). In: Collins, K., Byard, R. (eds) Forensic Pathology of Infancy and Childhood. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-61779-403-2_32

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