Toxicologic analysis in cases of possible sudden infant death syndrome: a worthwhile exercise?
| Autor: | Peter Ellis, Neil E. I. Langlois, Bogdan Hulewicz, Dianne Little |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2002 |
| Předmět: |
Male
medicine.medical_specialty Pediatrics Routine testing Toxicology Medical Records Pathology and Forensic Medicine Cause of Death Whiplash Medicine Humans Shaken baby Cause of death Retrospective Studies Medical Audit business.industry Diagnostic Tests Routine Head injury Infant Newborn Infant Sudden infant death syndrome medicine.disease Surgery Female Autopsy New South Wales business Methadone Sudden Infant Death medicine.drug |
| Zdroj: | The American journal of forensic medicine and pathology. 23(2) |
| ISSN: | 0195-7910 |
| Popis: | The diagnosis of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is one of exclusion. At the Department of Forensic Medicine, Westmead Hospital, toxicologic analysis is performed as part of the postmortem examination of all apparent SIDS deaths. The results for the 5-year period January 1, 1994, to December 31, 1999, were audited to determine whether such routine testing was worthwhile. During this time there were 117 cases with a history consistent with SIDS. Drugs were detected in 19 (16%) of these cases. In 1 case, death was attributed to the finding of methadone. The presence of methadone was regarded as a possible contributing factor to death in a further 2 cases. The presence of possible methadone toxicity had not been expected from the history given before the examination in these 3 cases. In 114 cases there was a suitable sample for alcohol testing; in no case was alcohol detected. In 13 cases the postmortem examination revealed an anatomic cause of death (including 3 cases consistent with whiplash/shaken baby/impact head injury), which excluded a diagnosis of SIDS. In conclusion, routine toxicologic testing in all possible cases of SIDS death supplements the postmortem examination in excluding cases of non-SIDS. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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