Distinguishing Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Review
Advances in technology have provided a better understanding of certain risk factors involved in sudden, unexplained infant deaths (SUIDs). This understanding has allowed authorities to educate parents and caregivers, resulting in a dramatic decrease of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). An unfortunate side effect of this decrease however, has been an increase in the discovery of fatal child abuse masked as SIDS. "Distinguishing Sudden Infant Death Syndrome From Child Abuse Fatalities," found in the February 2001 issue of Pediatrics, is a very detailed article focusing on the importance of proper diagnosis of SIDS. The American Academy of Pediatrics' Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect utilize this article to make recommendations for the evaluation of SUIDs and provide explanations supporting these recommendations. It is important to note that SIDS is a diagnosis of exclusion. All other possible causes of death must be eliminated before a diagnosis of SIDS can be made. A thorough investigation must be made to accomplish this.
A recent study in Great Britain revealed that of 39 cases referred for evaluation of recurrent ALTEs 33 were in fact cases of abuse. There are other recommendations that are valuable but may not be practical at this time due to budget constraints. Parents feel that there may have been something they could have done to prevent the tragedy. Such a position would need to be funded by the state. " Few states currently utilize child maltreatment specialists in the emergency room. " They recommend training of first response teams and other professionals in the documentation of observations in order to make investigations more efficient and accurate. For example "accurate history taking by emergency responders and medical personnel" and "prompt death scene investigations" are addressed by providing more intensive training of officers and first responders in the areas of documentation and sensitivity. The committee estimates that "<1% to 5%" of cases diagnosed as SIDS may actually be cases of infanticide. A complete and accurate review of medical history combined with proper testing post mortem may alert families to genetic disorders that may have caused their child's death. Arizona is not willing to produce such funding at this time. The grief and stress associated with these feelings are only compounded when approached with inappropriate comments and questions. A thorough investigation of the death scene will help to expose cases of infanticide. These recommendations would help obtain very valuable information, but they may not be feasible in all states. According to the committee the indications of such cases include: recurrent Apparent Life Threatening Events (ALTEs), age of death older than 6 months, and physical evidence of intentional suffocation or abuse. A few are currently in use by the Arizona Department of Health Services (DHS).
Common topics in this essay:
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,
Abuse Fatalities,
Syndrome SIDS,
child abuse,
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Infant Death,
Child Abuse,
Sudden Infant,
Death Syndrome,
sudden infant death,
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