Citation

Hwang SS. Pediatrics 2021; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, American Academy of Pediatrics)

DOI

10.1542/peds.2020-042135

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

In this issue of Pediatrics, Parks et al analyze rates of sudden unexpected infant death (SUID) by explained and unexplained categories and identify demographic and medical factors associated with SUID using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Case Registry. This study highlights 3 critical opportunities to impact SUID rates: (1) consistent data collection and reporting, (2) overrepresentation of preterm infants and infants with recent illness in SUID cases, and (3) the large contribution of soft bedding to SUID cases.

First, every year, nearly 3500 infants suffer SUID in the United States, with no decline in SUID rates in over 2 decades.2 The tremendous variability in approaches to investigating and categorizing SUID across counties and states is a significant barrier to obtaining precise estimates of mechanism or cause of infant death. The diagnostic shift that has led to decreasing sudden infant death syndrome rates, increasing rates of accidental suffocation and strangulation in bed and thus stagnant SUID rates, highlights this continued lack of consistent determination of cause of death. …

Language: en