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- Rachel Y. Moon, MD*
- Linda Fu, MD, MSc†
- *Director, Academic Development, Associate Chief, Division of General Pediatrics and Community Health, Goldberg Center for Community Pediatric Health, Children’s National Medical Center; Professor of Pediatrics, George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Washington, DC.
- †Children’s National Medical Center; Assistant Professor, Pediatrics, George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Washington, DC.
Author Disclosure
Drs Moon and Fu have disclosed no financial relationships relevant to this article. This commentary does not contain a discussion of an unapproved/investigative use of a commercial product/device.
- ASSB:
- accidental suffocation and strangulation in bed
- LB:
- live birth
- OR:
- odds ratio
- SIDS:
- sudden infant death syndrome
Educational Gap
Although the rate of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDs) deaths has remained constant–approximately 2,300 infants annually–since 2001, many deaths that previously would have been classified as SIDS now are attributed to other sleep-related causes.
The American Academy of Pediatrics Task Force on SIDS recently published a new Policy Statement and Technical Report providing evidence-based guidance on the other causes of sleep-related infant deaths, such as soft bedding, prone sleep position, and bed sharing.
Objectives
After completing this article, readers should be able to:
Discuss possible etiologic mechanisms for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
Identify the risk factors for SIDS.
Discuss the American Academy of Pediatrics SIDS Task Force recommendations and underlying rationale.
Discuss the most common reasons for nonadherence with SIDS risk reduction recommendations.
Introduction
In 2007, Pediatrics in Review published a review article on sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). (1) This article uses that article as a reference and provides an update on the topic.
What We Knew Then
Definition
SIDS is defined as a sudden unexplained death before 1 year of age. The death usually occurs in a previously healthy infant, and the cause of death remains unexplained despite a thorough case investigation, including a complete autopsy, death scene investigation, and review of the clinical history.
Epidemiology
In the United States, ∼2,300 infants die of SIDS each year. Despite the success of the Back to Sleep campaign, which is associated with a steady decline in deaths from SIDS from the beginning of the campaign in 1994 up to 2000, SIDS remains the third leading cause of death in infancy and the most common cause of death between 1 month and 1 year of age. Since 2001, …
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