SIDS is not a disease entity

doi:10.1136/bmj.39493.404722.1F

BMJ 2008;336:404-405 (23 February), doi:10.1136/bmj.39493.404722.1F

Letters

Does cot death still exist?

SIDS is not a disease entity

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

The sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is not a disease entity.¹It is a description of an outcome, a term used to acknowledgea failure to make a diagnosis. The value of the term is thatit informs us that no blame is apportioned to the carer. Theweakness is that it implies that we understand more than wedo. The new term SUDI, or sudden unexpected death in infancy,is unfortunate in that it would have been better if the U stoodfor "unexplained" rather than "unexpected."

It is important to understand that while parents are usuallyblameless for the death, they may still be partly responsible.For example, a whole generation of parents laid their babiesface down in the cot, believing that they were doing the best.If the parents have contributed to the cause of death we dothem a disservice by not saying so.

We . . . [Full text of this article]

Leonard H P Williams, consultant paediatrician

¹ Bassetlaw District General Hospital, Worksop S81 0BD

leonard.williams@dbh.nhs.uk