Sudden infant death syndrome : a guide for nurse family counselors /

"August, 1980."

Sudden infant death syndrome, general public education presentation.

Mode of access: Internet.

Sudden infant death syndrome : a guide for coroners /

"April, 1981."

Couple distress after sudden infant or perinatal death: A 30-month follow up

Objective: To examine, using a 30-month prospective study, patterns of anxiety, depression and alcohol use in couples following stillbirth, neonatal death or sudden infant death syndrome. Methodology: One hundred and thirty-eight bereaved and 156 non-bereaved couples completed standardized interviews at 2, 8, 15 and 30 months post-loss. Results: At all interviews, bereaved couples were significantly more likely than non-bereaved couples to have at least one distressed partner. Rarely were both partners distressed in either group. For bereaved couples, 'mother only' distress declined from 21% to 10% during the study. 'Father only' distress ranged from 7% to 15%, peaking at 30 months. Bereaved mothers who were distressed at 2 months reported significantly lower marital satisfaction at 30 months. Conclusions: At the couple level, the experience of a baby's death is multifaceted. Gender differences are common and partners' needs may change over time. Early recognition of these differences may facilitate longer-term adjustment for both partners.

Parental reactions to infant death: The effects of resources and coping strategies

The aim of this research was to examine, from a stress and coping perspective, the effects of resources (both personal and environmental) and coping strategies on parental reactions to infant death. One hundred and twenty-seven parents (60 fathers, 67 mothers) participated in the study. The predictors of parental distress (background factors, resources, coping methods) were initially assessed at 4-6 weeks post-loss. Parental distress (assessed using a composite measure of psychiatric disturbance, physical symptoms, and perinatal grief) was further assessed at 6 months post-loss and at 15 months postloss. After control for the stability in adjustment across time, there was consistent evidence that higher levels of education were associated with lower levels of parental distress over time. Among mothers, the number of friends in whom mothers had the confidence to confide emerged as a positive predictor of adjustment to infant death. A reliance on problem-focused coping was associated with greater maternal distress at 6 months post-loss, whereas coping by seeking support was associated with less distress at 15 months post-loss. There is no evidence that background factors and resources influenced parental distress through coping.

Effects of a program of intervention on parental distress following infant death

A longitudinal study of 144 patents (65 fathers, 79 mothers) was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of a program of intervention in relieving the psychological distress of parents affected by infant death. Participants were assessed in terms of their psychiatric disturbance, depression, anxiety, physical symptoms, dyadic adjustment, and coping strategies. The experimental group (n = 84) was offered an intervention program comprising the use of specially designed resources and contact with a trained grief worker. A control group (n = 60) was given routine community care. Parental reactions were assessed at four to six weeks postloss (prior to the implementation of the intervention program), at six months postloss, and at 15 months postloss. A series of multivariate analyses of valiance revealed that the intervention was effective in reducing the distress of parents, particularly those assessed prior to the intervention as being at high-risk of developing mourning difficulties. Effects of the intervention were noted in terms of parents' overall psychiatric disturbance, marital quality, and paternal coping strategies.

Could sudden death syndrome (SDS) in chickens (Gallus gallus) be a valid animal model for sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP)?

Epilepsy is the most common serious neurological disorder and approximately 1% of the population worldwide has epilepsy. Moreover, sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) is the most important direct epilepsy-related cause of death. Information concerning fisk factors for SUDEP is conflicting, but potential risk factors include: young age, early onset of epilepsy, duration of epilepsy, uncontrolled seizures, seizure frequency, AED number and winter temperatures. Additionally, the cause of SUDEP is still unknown; however, the most commonly suggested mechanisms are cardiac abnormalities during and between seizures. Similarly, sudden death syndrome (SDS) is a disease characterized by an acute death of well-nourished and seeming healthy Gallus gallus after abrupt and brief flapping of their wings and incidence of SDS these animals has recently increased worldwide. Moreover, the exactly cause of SDS in Gallus gallus is unknown, but is very probable that cardiac abnormalities play a potential role. Due the similarities between SUDEP and SDS and as Gallus gallus behavioral manifestation during SDS phenomenon is close of a tonic-clonic seizure, in this paper we suggest that epilepsy could be a new possible causal factor for SDS. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

International childcare practices study: Infant sleeping environment

Background: The International Child Care Practices Study (ICCPS) has collected descriptive data from 21 centres in 17 countries. In this report, data are presented on the infant sleeping environment with the main focus being sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) risk factors (bedsharing and infant using a pillow) and protective factors (infant sharing a room with adult) that are not yet well established in the literature. Methods: Using a standardised protocol, parents of infants were surveyed at birth by interview and at 3 months of age mainly by postal questionnaire. Centres were grouped according to geographic location. Also indicated was the level of SIDS awareness in the community, i.e. whether any campaigns or messages to “reduce the risks of SIDS” were available at the time of the survey. Results: Birth interview data were available for 5488 individual families and 4656 (85%) returned questionnaires at 3 months. Rates of bedsharing varied considerably (2–88%) and it appeared to be more common in the samples with a lower awareness of SIDS, but not necessarily a high SIDS rate. Countries with higher rates of bedsharing appeared to have a greater proportion of infants bedsharing for a longer duration (>5 h). Rates of room sharing varied (58–100%) with some of the lowest rates noted in centres with a higher awareness of SIDS. Rates of pillow use ranged from 4% to 95%. Conclusions: It is likely that methods of bedsharing differ cross-culturally, and although further details were sought on different bedsharing practices, it was not possible to build up a composite picture of “typical” bedsharing practices in these different communities. These data highlight interesting patterns in child care in these diverse populations. Although these results should not be used to imply that any particular child care practice either increases or decreases the risk of SIDS, these findings should help to inject caution into the process of developing SIDS prevention campaigns for non-Western cultures.

Rebreathing potential of infant mattresses and bedcovers

Objective : To establish the CO2 dispersion and retention properties of some mattresses and bed coverings commercially available in Australia. Methods : Five mattresses were studied in (i) an in vivo model in which an infant's head was covered by a headbox, rebreathing was allowed to occur, and the final steady state CO2 concentration was measured; and (ii) an in vitro model in which 5% CO2 in a headbox was allowed to disperse, and the time taken for the concentration to reach 1% was measured. Five types of bedcover were studied in (i) an in vivo model in which an infant's head was covered by a bedcover and the final steady state CO2 concentration was measured; and (ii) an in vitro model in which 5% CO2 under a bedcover was allowed to disperse, and the time taken for the concentration to reach 1% was measured. Results : The steady state CO2 concentrations ranged from 0.6% to 3.0% for the mattresses (P < 0.05). The time for CO2 to disperse ranged from 5.5 min to 30.4 min (P < 0.05). Steady state CO2 concentrations ranged from 2.5% to 3.6% for the bedcoverings (P > 0.05). The time for CO2 to disperse ranged from 5.4 min to 7.7 min (P > 0.05). Conclusions : Some commercial cot mattresses and bedcoverings allow high concentrations of CO2 to accumulate in rebreathing environments. Some mattress types studied were more diffusive to CO2 , whereas there was no difference between the bedcovers studied. This may have implications for vulnerable infants at risk of sudden infant death syndrome.

Identification of quantitative trait loci for resistance against soybean sudden death syndrome caused by Fusarium tucumaniae

The objective of this work was to identify genomic regions that underlie resistance to Fusarium tucumaniae sp. nov., the causing agent of sudden death syndrome (SDS) in soybean in South America, using a population with a genetic background different from that previously reported for Fusarium virguliforme sp. nov. (F. solani f. sp. glycines), also responsible for SDS in soybean. Although major genes and quantitative trait loci (QTL) for SDS resistance have been identified, little is known about the same disease caused by Fusarium tucumaniae sp. nov., in South America. To identify genetic factors related to resistance to F. tucumaniae and DNA markers associated with them, a QTL analysis was performed using recombinant inbred lines. The map locations of the four loci, here identified, differed from those SDS resistance QTL previously described. It was screened a residual heterozygous line (RHL), which was heterozygous around the most effective QTL, RSDS1, and homozygous for the other genomic regions. The genetic effect of RSDS1 was confirmed using near-isogenic lines (NIL) derived from the RHL. The line which was homozygous for the Misuzudaizu genotype showed resistance levels comparable with that of the line homozygous for the Moshidou Gong 503 genotype.

Inoculation methods under greenhouse conditions for evaluating soybean resistance to sudden death syndrome

The objectives of this work were to evaluate two greenhouse screening methods for sudden death syndrome (SDS) and to determine which one is best correlated with field resistance of soybean genotypes. The evaluations were done with three sets of genotypes that were classified as partially resistant, intermediate, and susceptible to SDS based on previous field evaluations. These three sets were independently evaluated for greenhouse SDS reactions using cone and tray inoculation methods. Plants were infected using grains of white sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] infested with Fusarium solani f. sp. glycines. Foliar symptom severity was rated 21 days after emergence. The cone and field SDS ratings were significantly correlated and ranged from 0.69 for set 1 to 0.51 for set 3. Correlations of SDS ratings of genotypes between field and greenhouse tray ratings were significant for set 1 and not significant for set 2. The cone method showed the highest correlation with field results and is recommended to screen soybean genotypes for SDS resistance.