OBJECTIVE Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is marked by 'the sudden death of an infant that is unexpected by history and remains unexplained after a thorough forensic autopsy and a detailed death scene investigation'. The cause is unknown. Excessive subglottic submucosal glandular tissue and excessive sulphated mucus glycoprotein in the larynges of SIDS babies have been previously reported f...

OBJECTIVE To develop an approach for seeking informed consent to examine tissues retained from a previous study of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) as part of a study on asthma, and to document responses and participation rate. DESIGN Pilot open-ended approach to 10 volunteer SIDS parents, followed by staged approach (newsletter, mail and telephone call) to seek consent from the target SID...

Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is the unexplained death, usually during sleep, of a baby younger than 1-year-old. Even though researchers have discovered some factors that may put babies at extra risk, SIDS remains unpredictable up until now. One hypothesis is that impaired cardiovascular control may play a role in the underlying mechanism of SIDS. A reduction of heart rate variability (HR...

To investigate the possibility that a genetically transmitted cardiac abnormality is involved in the genesis of the sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), 42 sets of parents who had at least one infant with SIDS were studied by electrocardiography. Prolongation of the QT interval was present in at least one member of 11 (26%) sets of parents. In families in which QT interval prolongation was foun...

BACKGROUND The use of duvets in infancy is not recommended in the UK and Australia because of a reported association with sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). AIMS To examine the association between the use of duvets and the risk of SIDS. METHODS A nationwide case control study (393 cases, 1592 controls). The use of duvets was assessed by interview with the parent or guardian. RESULTS The...

To assess the association between infant sleeping position and risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) in an ethnically diverse US population, the authors conducted a population-based case-control study in 11 counties in California from May 1997 through April 2000. The authors conducted in-person interviews with the mothers of 185 SIDS cases and 312 randomly selected race/ethnicity- and age...

CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE The true incidence of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) in Brazil is unknown. The aim here was to identify SIDS cases in the city of Ribeirão Preto, State of São Paulo, between 2000 and 2005, in order to estimate its incidence. DESIGN AND SETTING Retrospective analysis of data on live births and infant deaths in Ribeirão Preto and from autopsies of infants performed at...

A wide range of clinical findings was present in 58 near-miss sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) infants and 6 surviving twins of SIDS siblings. Specific investigations included: studies of gastro-oesophageal reflux and aspiration (24-hour oesophageal pH recordings, barium swallow, radionuclide 'milk-scan'); polygraphic studies of breathing, reflux, and sleep state; studies of upper airways di...

AIMS To investigate the epidemiology and risk factors of apparent life threatening events (ALTE). METHODS A prospective study enrolled all live-born infants in the Tyrol (1993-2001). Information on pregnancy, sociodemographic characteristics, child care practices, and infant's behaviour in the first four to six weeks of life was collected with a standardised questionnaire, and was available f...

INTRODUCTION Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is characterized by the sudden death of an apparently otherwise healthy infant, typically during sleep, and with no obvious case after a thorough post-mortem and scene death examination. OBJECTIVE To address the problem from the otolaryngologist's perspective, describe relevant pathologies, discuss controversies and suggest preventive measures ...