Viral Infection and SIDS: A Multidisciplinary Approach for the Forensic Pathologist |Biomedgrid

Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is the sudden unexpected death of an apparent healthy infant under 1-year-old whose cause of death remains unknown despite a thorough death scene investigation, a review of the clinical history and autopsy. The risks factors for sudden infant death syndrome parallel those associated with susceptibility to or severity of infectious disease. This review assesses SIDS research in the context of clinicopathological features and focuses on the association of SIDS with a recent viral infection, most commonly a mild upper respiratory tract infection. The autoptic investigation of cases of sudden and unexpected death of the child must be carried out following standardized protocols and a multidisciplinary approach to establish the exact cause of death and in particular the role of respiratory tract infections as well as other exogenous triggers.