Most people are aware of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), a condition in which infants pass away while they are asleep for unknown causes of SUDC
However, 400 or so instances of comparable “sudden unexplained deaths in children” (SUDC) involving toddlers, a slightly older age group, take place in the US each year. There may be an explanation for these events thanks to new research using security camera and baby monitor footage.
“Despite its small size, our study provides the first concrete evidence that seizures could be the cause of some unexpected deaths in children, which are typically undetected while they sleep,” stated lead researcher Laura Gould, an NYU Langone research assistant professor, in a news statement.
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Research
Gould’s research is personal to her since she lost her 15-month-old daughter Maria to SUDC in 1997. She established the NYU SUDC Registry and Research Collaborative ten years ago as a result of that loss. The journal Neurology published the updated results on January 4. In order to identify the contributing factors to SUDC instances, Gould and her colleagues’ investigation analyzed medical data in addition to footage from home security systems or baby monitors installed in toddlers’ bedrooms.
Reports
All of this data, involving more than 300 cases, came from the registry Gould helped set up. The team found that at least one in every three cases of SUDC was potentially caused by seizures. That’s in line with prior research, which had already found that children who died suddenly and unexpectedly were 10 times more likely to have a history of fever-associated (febrile) seizures compared to children who did not die suddenly.
Eight doctors on a team examined the infrequent SUDC cases when a child’s last moments were captured on camera. Signs of a seizure were audibly and visually demonstrated in five of the seven videos that were evaluated. There were also indications of a muscular convulsion in the sixth video. Usually starting approximately half an hour before death, seizures lasted about a minute.The researchers noted that only one of the toddlers in the videos had a prior history of febrile seizures. On autopsy, no definitive cause of death had been determined for any of the children.
According to investigator
According to Dr. Owen Devinsky, the lead investigator, “these study findings show that seizures are much more common than patients’ medical histories suggest and that further research is needed to determine if seizures are frequent occurrences in sleep-related deaths in toddlers and potentially in infants, older children and adults.”n Devinsky is the head of NYU Langone’s epilepsy service, in addition to being a professor of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry.
He added that it’s still not clear how a brief seizure might lead to a child’s death, and more research is needed. Based on prior research in people with epilepsy, it’s known that seizures can lead to subsequent interruptions in breathing, and death can result, especially if the person is lying face down while sleeping. Devinsky said seizure-related deaths are underreported by people generally, whether or not they have epilepsy.
What is the frequency of SUDC?
Due to variations in investigations and the way deaths are certified, we do not know exactly how often SUDC occurs. This is why the advocacy work the SUDC Foundation does and the research it funds are so important. Consistency in recording unexplained deaths improves our understanding of the magnitude of SUDC and allows for appropriate allocation of resources. The best thing we can do at this time is estimate deaths due to SUDC by examining the statistics of deaths with “undetermined” causes. This information is displayed below.
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Disclaimer: The opinions and suggestions expressed in this article are solely those of the individual analysts. These are not the opinions of HNN. For more, please consult with your doctor
