Unexplained Infant Deaths While on Propranolol for Treatment of Infantile Hemangiomas

Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) has been used as a cause of death for over four decades. It has allowed deaths of infants to be registered as natural. Within this group of deaths, a certain number have been recognized to be homicides from inflicted smothering rather than being natural or accidental deaths. Research has been conducted using confidential inquires to determine how frequent homicide is in cases called SIDS. This paper traces the history of quoted rates of homicide. Early work suggested the figure was between 2-10% of all SIDS cases, though other workers have suggested figures as high as 20-40%. With the fall in the rate of infant deaths following the “Back to Sleep” campaigns, these figures have been reevaluated. If the higher figures were correct that 20-40% of SIDS were homicides, the fall in infant deaths would be expected to be less than it has been. Current data suggests a much lower figure than 10% of current cases, with much lower overall rates of infant deaths. As well as 10% of SIDS cases having been stated to be homicides, a related question is whether multiple deaths classified as SIDS are really homicides. The paper discusses the maxim that one death is a tragedy, two is suspicious, and three deaths indicate homicide. The paper also looks at court cases and the approach that has been made in prosecutions of sudden unexpected death in infancy as multiple murder.

Download Full-text

Temperature, Disease, and Death in London: Analyzing Weekly Data for the Century from 1866 to 1965

The Journal of Economic History ◽

10.1017/s0022050720000613 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-41

Author(s):

W. Walker Hanlon ◽

Casper Worm Hansen ◽

Jake Kantor

Keyword(s):

Nineteenth Century ◽

High Temperature ◽

Mortality Data ◽

Late Nineteenth Century ◽

Infant Deaths ◽

Digestive Diseases ◽

Late Nineteenth ◽

The Impact ◽

The City

Using novel weekly mortality data for London spanning 1866-1965, we analyze the changing relationship between temperature and mortality as the city developed. Our main results show that warm weeks led to elevated mortality in the late nineteenth century, mainly due to infant deaths from digestive diseases. However, this pattern largely disappeared after WWI as infant digestive diseases became less prevalent. The resulting change in the temperature-mortality relationship meant that thousands of heat-related deaths—equal to 0.9-1.4 percent of all deaths— were averted. These findings show that improving the disease environment can dramatically alter the impact of high temperature on mortality.

Download Full-text

OBSTETRIC FACTORS IN 171 SUDDEN INFANT DEATHS IN TASMANIA, 1970‐1976

The Medical Journal of Australia ◽

10.5694/j.1326-5377.1981.tb135283.x ◽

1981 ◽

Vol 1 (1) ◽

pp. 26-31 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Alan C. Grice ◽

Neil D. McGlashan

Keyword(s):

Sudden Infant ◽

Infant Deaths ◽

Obstetric Factors

Download Full-text

Health capabilities and the determinants of infant mortality in Brazil, 2004–2015: an innovative methodological framework

BMC Public Health ◽

10.1186/s12889-021-10903-9 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Alexandre Bugelli ◽

Roxane Borgès Da Silva ◽

Ladislau Dowbor ◽

Claude Sicotte

Keyword(s):

Infant Mortality ◽

Educational Attainment ◽

Health Professionals ◽

Capita Income ◽

Mortality Rates ◽

Fertility Rate ◽

Employment Rate ◽

Infant Deaths ◽

Bolsa Familia ◽

Per Capita

Abstract Background Despite the implementation of a set of social and health policies, Brazil has experienced a slowdown in the decline of infant mortality, regional disparities and persistent high death levels, raising questions about the determinants of infant mortality after the implementation of these policies. The objective of this article is to propose a methodological approach aiming at identifying the determinants of infant mortality in Brazil after the implementation of those policies. Method A series of multilevel panel data with fixed effect nested within-clusters were conducted supported by the concept of health capabilities based on data from 26 Brazilian states between 2004 and 2015. The dependent variables were the neonatal, the infant and the under-five mortality rates. The independent variables were the employment rate, per capita income, Bolsa Família Program coverage, the fertility rate, educational attainment, the number of live births by prenatal visits, the number of health professionals per thousand inhabitants, and the access to water supply and sewage services. We also used different time lags of employment rate to identify the impact of employment on the infant mortality rates over time, and household income stratified by minimum wages to analyze their effects on these rates. Results The results showed that in addition to variables associated with infant mortality in previous studies, such as Bolsa Família Program, per capita income and fertility rate, other factors affect child mortality. Educational attainment, quality of prenatal care and access to health professionals are also elements impacting infant deaths. The results also identified an association between employment rate and different infant mortality rates, with employment impacting neonatal mortality up to 3 years and that a family income below 2 minimum wages increases the odds of infant deaths. Conclusion The results proved that the methodology proposed allowed the use of variables based on aggregated data that could hardly be used by other methodologies.

Download Full-text