Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and Child Abuse

In reporting two siblings who succumbed to "sudden infant death syndrome," Steinschneider exposes an unparalleled family chronicle of infant death.1 Of five children, four died in early infancy and the other died without explanation at age 28 months. Prolonged apnea is proposed as the common denominator in the deaths, yet the author leaves many questions relevant to the fate of these children unanswered. Apnea of greater than 15 seconds has been well documented for the two siblings studied.

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Prolonged Apnea, Vagal Overactivity, and Sudden Infant Death

PEDIATRICS ◽

10.1542/peds.51.4.755 ◽

1973 ◽

Vol 51 (4) ◽

pp. 755-755

Author(s):

David S. Bachman

Keyword(s):

At Risk ◽

Vagus Nerve ◽

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome ◽

Infant Death ◽

Vagal Stimulation ◽

Sudden Infant Death ◽

Sudden Infant ◽

Prolonged Apnea ◽

Stimulation Of

The article on prolonged apnea and the sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) by Steinschneider1 is very exciting in that it suggests the possibility of identifying infants at risk from SIDS before the final event. Obviously, it is of great importance to learn the mechanism causing the preceding apneic episodes. Do they represent vagal overactivity? Stimulation of the intact vagus nerve in the unanesthetized monkey causes apnea, as well as bradycardia and even arrhythmias.2 In fact, we have seen myocardial myocytolysis secondary to vagal stimulation.3

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Twenty-Fifth Anniversary of the National Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Foundation

PEDIATRICS ◽

10.1542/peds.82.2.272 ◽

1988 ◽

Vol 82 (2) ◽

pp. 272-274

Author(s):

ABRAHAM B. BERGMAN

Keyword(s):

Medical Care ◽

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome ◽

Life Insurance ◽

Infant Death ◽

Sudden Infant Death ◽

Sudden Infant ◽

Insurance Policy ◽

Common Thread ◽

The Common

When 6-month-old Mark Addison Roe of Greenwich, CT, died suddenly and unexpectedly in October 1958, his parents were told that the cause was "acute bronchial pneumonia." In those days, "it" was called by many names, such as suffocation, overlaying, aspiration, or various forms of pneumonia. The common thread was that all of the terms connoted that parents were either directly, or indirectly, by virtue of failing to secure medical care, responsible for the infant's death. Mark's death might have been the end of it were it not for the existence of a life insurance policy that his grandparents had bought at the time of his birth.

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