• Corpus ID: 73924202

INFANT MECHANICAL SUFFOCATION DEATH DURING SLEEP AND ITS RISK FACTORS ANALYSIS OF FORENSIC AUTOPSY CASES

@inproceedings{Shigeta2005INFANTMS,
  title={INFANT MECHANICAL SUFFOCATION DEATH DURING SLEEP AND ITS RISK FACTORS ANALYSIS OF FORENSIC AUTOPSY CASES},
  author={Akio Shigeta},
  year={2005}
}

• A. Shigeta
• Published 2005
• Medicine

Background:The common practice of diagnosing with or without autopsy sudden un‑ expected infant deaths during sleep as sudden infant death syndrome leads to medicolegal problems about whether the death is accidental intentional or due to sudden infant death syndrome. Objectives:To examine the present state and importance of mechanical suffocation deaths during sleep among infants younger than 11 months and to propose risk factors for infant suffocation death during sleep. Methods:Autopsy cases in which the cause of death had been determined to be mechanical suffocation were reviewed and analyzed on the basis of the autopsy protocols the clinical historyand the death scene investigation. Results:Forty-four cases were analyzed. In 40 cases (90.9% 95% confidence interval 78.3-97.5%) the infants were younger than 6 months. Infants were found on a soft sleep surfacesuch as adult futon/bed or cushion in 30 cases(68.2%52.4-81.4%). They were found in the prone facedown position in 27 cases (61.4%45.5-75.6%)despite having been placed in the supine position in 15 of these cases (55.6% 35.3-74.6%). Sharing of the bed with the mother parents or siblings was documented in 15 cases (34.1% 20.5-49.9%). The most frequent causes of suffocation were smothering due to the prone facedown position on a soft bed surface(32 cases72.7%57.2-85.0%)and thoracic compression(6 cases13.6%5.2-27.4%). The pattern of suffocation was the prone facedown position in 18 cases (45.0%29.3-61.5%) lying under another body due to bed sharing in 14 cases (35.0%20.6-51.7%)and wedging in 5 cases (12.5%4.2-26.8%). Conclusion:These results suggest that infant mechanical suffocation during sleep is caused by a combination of potentially fatal risk factorsincluding a soft bed surfacethe prone facedown positionchanging the position from supine/side to pronesharing of the bedlying under other bodieswedging of the head/face between bed and productand physical predisposi‑ tion at death. To avoid preventable deaths in infancythe recommendation that infants should sleep alone on firm bed surfaces should be publicized. (Tokyo Jikeikai Medical Journal 2005;120:167-75)