Seeking Answers About SIDS
MED to host CDC training on investigating sudden infant death
Every year, thousands of American parents experience the tragedy of a baby’s unexplained death. It’s called sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), an answer given when there are no answers and every other possible cause of death has been eliminated. There were about 2,500 SIDS cases in the United States last year, according to the American SIDS Institute. And while there is substantial evidence that infants who sleep on their stomachs are more often SIDS victims, the actual causes remain unknown. Research into this mysterious killer is hindered by a lack of consistent data from death scene investigations, which also increases the potential of misdiagnosis.
Last year, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) began holding regional academies for leaders in the fields involved with infant death scene investigations and SIDS research: medical examiners, law enforcement officials, child advocates, and college and medical school faculty. These leaders in turn train those in their respective offices and disciplines. The Northeast regional Sudden and Unexplained Infant Death Investigation (SUIDI) training will be held at the Boston University School of Medicine April 30 through May 3.
“Sometimes these infants who are found dead in their cribs are labeled SIDS and the case is included in research, but maybe it wasn’t actually SIDS,” explains Tara Moore, an assistant professor at MED and associate director of its Biomedical Forensic Sciences Program, a master’s program that began last fall. “Maybe it was a defective crib or a toxin in the environment.”
Along with forensic chemistry, DNA analysis, and homicide investigation, the BU program offers a course in medicolegal death investigation, which is critical to determining an infant’s cause of death. Randy Moshos, chief medicolegal investigator for the Massachusetts Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, teaches these skills to students in the BU program and will be one of the instructors at the CDC academy. This type of investigation involves gathering detailed evidence from the scene, from direct observation, and from interviews and photographs.
At next week’s training, teams from 10 states and a group from England and Australia will take part in workshops on investigation techniques and mock scenarios using dolls. The training materials include the information that is critical to have before an autopsy is performed, such as details on the infant’s sleeping surface and diet, recent falls or other injuries, and any recent hospitalizations. They also include a list of materials that every death scene investigator should carry, such as evidence tape, a digital camera, a thermometer, and a voice recorder. Finally, there are the standardized reporting forms on which all the relevant evidence from the scene is noted.
“What we’re trying to do with this program is make sure that everybody’s operating off the same set of procedures,” says Steven Clark, a consultant hired by the CDC to put together the SUIDI academies.
Chris Berdik can be reached at cberdik@bu.edu.