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- Title
Determining the prevalence of sudden and unexplained death in childhood (SUDC): a national Australian perspective.
- Authors
Duncan, Jhodie R.; Byard, Roger W.
- Abstract
Sudden unexplained death in childhood (SUDC) is defined as the unexplained death of a child over the age of 12 months. The National Coronial Information System (NCIS) Australia was used to access data for deaths of children aged 1 to 4 years over the period 2010 to 2014. Cases were classified as those in which the cause of death was determined and those in which the child died suddenly and unexpectedly, and the cause of death remained undetermined. Categorical information was extracted for each case to determine risk factors associated with the cause of death. The overall rate of death in Australian children aged 1 to 4 years and for whom coronial data was available from 2010 to 2014 was 9.69/100,000 children. A cause of death was determined in 87% of cases with the average rate of death in this group being 8.49/100,000. Death remained undetermined in 13% of cases. The study determined that the SUDC rate in Australian children aged 1 to 4 years was 0.02/100,000. However, this rate may be as high as 0.40/100,000 children should further investigation be undertaken. These children tended to be 18–20 months of age and male, with death occurring primarily while prone during a sleep period in cooler months, thus having similar characteristics to sudden infant death syndrome.
- Subjects
AUSTRALIA; SUDDEN death; SUDDEN infant death syndrome; CHILD death; CAUSES of death; HOMICIDE rates
- Publication
International Journal of Legal Medicine, 2021, Vol 135, Issue 3, p793
- ISSN
0937-9827
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1007/s00414-020-02445-3