The Institution of a Standardized Investigation Protocol for Sudden Infant Death in the Eastern Metropole, Cape Town, South Africa,.

The rate for the sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) in Cape Town, South Africa, is estimated to be among the highest in the world (3.41/1000 live births). In several of these areas, including those of extreme poverty, only sporadic, nonstandardized infant autopsy, and death scene investigation (DSI) occurred. In this report, we detail a feasibility project comprising 18 autopsied infants with sudden and unexpected death whose causes of death were adjudicated according to the 1991 NICHD definitions (SIDS, n = 7; known cause of death, n = 7; and unclassified, n = 4). We instituted a standardized autopsy and infant DSI through a collaborative effort of local forensic pathology officers and clinical providers. The high standard of forensic investigation met international standards, identified preventable disease, and allowed for incorporation of research. We conclude that an effective infant autopsy and DSI protocol can be established in areas with both high sudden unexpected infant death, and elsewhere. (SUID)/SIDS risk and infrastructure challenges.

A practical classification schema incorporating consideration of possible asphyxia in cases of sudden unexpected infant death.

Although the rate of the sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) has decreased over the last two decades, medical examiners and coroners are increasingly unwilling to use the SIDS diagnosis, particularly when there is an unsafe sleeping environment that might pose a risk for asphyxia. In order to reliably classify the infant deaths studied in a research setting in the mixed ancestory population in Cape Town, South Africa, we tested a classification system devised by us that incorporates the uncertainty of asphyxial risks at an infant death scene. We classified sudden infant deaths as: A) SIDS (where only a trivial potential for an overt asphyxial event existed); B) Unclassified-Possibly Asphyxial-Related (when any potential for an asphyxial death existed); C) Unclassified-Non-Asphyxial-Related (e.g., hyperthermia); D) Unclassified-No autopsy and/or death scene investigation; and E) Known Cause of Death. Ten infant deaths were classified according to the proposed schema as: SIDS, n = 2; Unclassified-Possibly Asphyxial-Related, n = 4; and Known Cause, n = 4. A conventional schema categorized the deaths as 6 cases, SIDS, and 4 cases, Known Cause, indicating that 4/6 (67%) of deaths previously classified as SIDS are considered related importantly to asphyxia and warrant their own subgroup. This new classification schema applies a simpler, more qualitative approach to asphyxial risk in infant deaths. It also allows us to test hypotheses about the role of asphyxia in sudden infant deaths, such as in brainstem defects in a range of asphyxial challenges.

A 51-year-old man with sudden unexpected death.

We report an unusual case of a 51-year-old man who died suddenly and was found to have an intraventricular and subarachnoid hemorrhage secondary to acute hemorrhage within a choroid plexus xanthogranuloma. This is a highly unusual source of bleeding and to our knowledge has not been previously described in the literature. The man was discovered deceased on the bathroom floor of his home and an autopsy was ordered by the county coroner. Examination of the brain showed diffuse subarachnoid blood accumulation over the base of the brain in a symmetric distribution. A large amount of subarachnoid blood was especially noted near the brainstem at the level of the fourth ventricle foramina. Sections of the lateral left ventricle showed acute non-organizing hemorrhage within the ventricle and adjacent choroid plexus. Microscopically, a nodular focus seen grossly in the left lateral ventricle revealed marked chronic xanthogranulomatous inflammation with extensive cholesterol clefts, foreign body reaction, and focal calcifications. A periphery of normal choroid plexus was identified around the nodule. There was evidence of both recent and remote hemorrhage.