Key result
The authors propose ending the use of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) as a diagnosis by changing ICD-10 nomenclature and vital statistics tabulation practices.
Advocates for the elimination of SIDS as a diagnostic entity to improve the accuracy of death certification in sudden unexplained infant deaths.
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is an overly broad classification bin for sudden unexplained infant deaths. SIDS has become a “diagnostic” phrase that encompasses unidentified, disease-related causes of death, deaths likely due to accidental asphyxia, and possibly unrecognized homicides. There is a prevailing false concept that SIDS is a “real” and discrete diagnostic entity rather than a phrase that signifies an inability to state why an infant has died. This has been perpetuated by the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-10), which recognizes SIDS as a “cause” of death. We propose simplified, unambiguous language for the death certificate in cases of sudden unexplained infant death. We propose changes to ICD-10 nomenclature and vital statistics tabulation practices of the National Center for Health Statistics (a division of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) to end the use of SIDS as a diagnosis.
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Nashelsky et al. (2011) conducted an editorial in Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). The authors propose ending the use of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) as a diagnosis by changing ICD-10 nomenclature and vital statistics tabulation practices.
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