Sibling Grief in Reaction to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1986 ◽  
Vol 78 (3) ◽  
pp. 485-487
Author(s):  
Elizabeth A. Burns ◽  
J. Daniel House ◽  
Mary R. Ankenbauer
Keyword(s):  
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome ◽  
Infant Death ◽  
Sudden Infant Death ◽  
Time Frame ◽  
Sudden Infant ◽  
Parental Grief ◽  
The Past ◽  
Sibling Grief ◽  
Special Circumstances ◽  
Children's Grief

Much of the literature that exists regarding psychologic outcomes of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) has focused on parental grief or family response; at least two studies suggest that a SIDS death also affected siblings. It is believed that children who experience the death of a sibling due to SIDS do grieve. Factors related to bereavement are the child's age at the time of the sibling's death, special circumstances of the SIDS death, and explanations and grieving response of the parents. However, no information currently exists that characterizes the course of the grief response of these children. Studies have indicated that about 1 year is a normal grieving period for adults. This study was conducted to evaluate the time frame of children's grief response to the death of a sibling from SIDS. A questionnaire was designed that incorporated child grieving behaviors from several sources; 151 questionnaires were distributed to families in which a SIDS death had occurred in the past 16 years in Iowa and Illinois. Information was obtained from 43 families for 50 children who were older than 2 years of age at the time of the sibling's death. With respect to the length of children's grief response, 54% were reported to have grieved longer than 1 year and only 40% were reported to have grieved less than 6 months. Thus, it appears that the length of the grieving response for these children is similar to that described for adults.

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome: Overview and Update

2003 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 112-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger W. Byard ◽  
Henry F. Krous
Keyword(s):  
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome ◽  
Infant Death ◽  
Sudden Infant Death ◽  
Historical Background ◽  
Cigarette Smoke Exposure ◽  
Sudden Infant ◽  
Death Scene ◽  
Infant Deaths ◽  
The Past ◽  
Full Investigation

The past decade and a half has seen marked changes in the epidemiology of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). The avoidance of certain risk factors such as sleeping prone and cigarette smoke exposure has resulted in the death rate falling dramatically. Careful evaluation of environmental factors and endogenous characteristics has led to a greater understanding of the complexities of the syndrome. The development and implementation of death scene and autopsy protocols has led to standardization in approaches to unexpected infant deaths with increasing diagnoses of accidental asphyxia. Despite these advances, there is still confusion surrounding the diagnosis, with deaths being attributed to SIDS in many communities and countries where death scene investigations and autopsies have not been conducted. The following review provides a brief overview of the historical background, epidemiology, pathology, and pathogenesis of SIDS. Contentious issues concerning the diagnosis and current problems are discussed. Despite calls to abandon the designation, SIDS remains a viable term for infants who die in their sleep with no evidence of accident, inflicted injury, or organic disease after a full investigation has been conducted according to standard guidelines.

Diphtheria-Tetanus-Pertussis Immunization and Sudden Infant Death: Results of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Cooperative Epidemiological Study of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Risk Factors

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1987 ◽  
Vol 79 (4) ◽  
pp. 598-611 ◽  
Author(s):  
Howard J. Hoffman ◽  
Jehu C. Hunter ◽  
Karla Damus ◽  
Jean Pakter ◽  
Donald R. Peterson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Child Health ◽  
Human Development ◽  
Epidemiological Study ◽  
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome ◽  
Infant Death ◽  
Matched Control ◽  
Sudden Infant Death ◽  
Time Frame ◽  
Temporal Association ◽  
Sudden Infant

The possible association between diphtheria-pertussis-tetanus (DTP) immunization and the subsequent occurrence of sudden infant death has been examined using data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) Cooperative Epidemiological Study, a large multicenter, population-based, case-control study. In a preliminary report based on the first 400 eligible singleton SIDS victims and 800 matched living control infants, no temporal association between SIDS and DTP immunization was found. From the final sample of 800 eligible singleton SIDS victims, 95% (n = 757) were defined as definitely or probably having died of SIDS on the basis of pathology data. Data from these 757 case infants and their corresponding control infants (n = 1,514) are presented in this report. Two control infants, both living, were randomly selected for each case infant: an age-matched control A and an age-, race-, and low birth weight-matched control B. Overall, case infants were less likely to have received any DTP immunization. Only 39.8% of case infants had received at least one DTP immunization compared to 55.0% of control A infants and 53.2% of control B infants. Based on maternal interviews and postnatal medical records, 1.8% of case infants (five infants) immunized with DTP died within the first 24 hours following immunization. Similarly, 5.0% of control A infants (n = 21) and 2.2% of control B infants (n = 9) had been immunized within 24 hours of the maternal interview, which represents the comparable time frame for the age-matched control infants. These results confirm the earlier preliminary findings from the NICHD SIDS Cooperative Epidemiological Study and suggest that DTP immunization is not a significant factor in the occurrence of SIDS.

The apnea monitor business

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1975 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abraham B. Bergman ◽  
J. Bruce Beckwith ◽  
C. George Ray
Keyword(s):  
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome ◽  
Infant Death ◽  
Medical Profession ◽  
Sudden Infant Death ◽  
Sudden Infant ◽  
Disease Entity ◽  
The Past ◽  
Distinct Disease ◽  
The Veil ◽  
Distinct Disease Entity

Perhaps the most fruitful dividend from research into the sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) in the past decade has been its establishment as a distinct disease entity. Though this knowledge is still not universally distributed throughout the medical profession, at least some of the veil of mystery and superstition has been lifted, and authoritative guidelines for the recognition and management of SIDS have been issued. Among the characteristics of SIDS, four deserve special emphasis, and serve as the basis for most of the research currently being conducted: (1) Most cases of SIDS occur between 4 and 16 weeks, suggesting some physiologic vulnerability during this age period.

Sleep and Nasal Obstruction

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1983 ◽  
Vol 72 (5) ◽  
pp. 754-754
Author(s):  
V. VAN SOMEREN ◽  
J. K. STOTHERS
Keyword(s):  
Nasal Obstruction ◽  
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome ◽  
Infant Death ◽  
Sudden Infant Death ◽  
Respiratory Monitoring ◽  
Financial Resources ◽  
Sudden Infant ◽  
Obstructive Apnea ◽  
The Past ◽  
Possible Cause

In Reply.— While we agree with Shaw that nasal obstruction is one possible cause of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), the purpose of our article was to highlight the pitfalls in diagnosing obstructive apnea. Implicit in his letter is a criticism of the direction of SIDS research over the past few years: countless hours of "respiratory" monitoring of questionable physiologic quality and analysis of dubious meaning, usually followed by complex statistical comparisons of little clinical import. We share this view and hope that research along such lines will cease shortly to make demands on already strained financial resources.

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