Experts Say Autopsy Needed On Sids Mysterious Killer Often Not Probed Thoroughly, Study Finds
In a 10-year span in Idaho, no autopsies were performed in 13 percent of deaths chalked up to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
A state Department of Health and Welfare study shows 394 babies died of SIDS in Idaho from 1985 to 1995, and autopsies were done in just 87 percent of them.
Experts say the only way to determine if a baby has died of SIDS is to perform a thorough autopsy to rule out other causes, such as abuse or infections.
Seven counties, including Valley, Madison and Lemhi, failed to perform autopsies on at least half the babies diagnosed with SIDS. And the trend seems to be toward fewer autopsies, said Dick Schultz, administrator of Health and Welfare’s Division of Health.
Idaho’s SIDS rate is 39 percent higher than the national average. No one knows what causes SIDS, the No. 1 cause of death for children up to age 1.
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention believes wide regional differences in SIDS rates may exist partly because of big differences in the way babies’ unexplained deaths are handled.
The agency also thinks written plans for investigating the scenes of suspected SIDS deaths are critical.
Only four states - California, Minnesota, Missouri and New Mexico - have written, standardized plans.
Ada County Coroner Erwin Sonnenberg said he uses a written form to collect information on everything from the infant’s bedding and sleep position to the mother’s health and whether the family had pets.
In Ada County, autopsies have been performed in all but one of 99 deaths determined to be SIDS since 1985. In about one in five cases, the suspected case is not SIDS after all, Sonnenberg said. Child abuse and infections always are possibilities.
No Idaho law requires autopsies of suspected SIDS victims. At least three efforts to get such a law through the Legislature have failed, Sonnenberg said.
“In my opinion, they have a hard time making a law saying your baby’s going to be autopsied,” he said. But, he added, it is the only way to diagnose SIDS.
Dr. Don Reay, medical examiner for the Seattle-King County area, said states should strive to autopsy 100 percent of suspected SIDS deaths. The national average is 90 percent.
Lemhi County Coroner Mike Mitchell does not think all, or even most, suspected SIDS deaths deserve an autopsy.
Mitchell works in a rural county with only four SIDS deaths in 10 years. One was autopsied.
“Normally, the baby is really young and has been laying on their stomach, generally, and just suffocated,” he said. “I always figure if there’s circumstances around you can’t understand, that’s the time for an autopsy.”