title: [Investigation of the sudden infant death syndrome: a multidisciplinary approach is required].
abstract: The concept of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is defined as the sudden, unexpected death of an infant less than a year old which remains unexplained after in-depth investigations comprising a complete autopsy, biological analyses, and a clinical examination of the circumstances surrounding the death. This definition underlines the importance of finding the cause of this disease in order to improve preventative measures to reduce the number of deaths due to sudden infant death syndrome. Among the causes of SIDS, pediatric infectious diseases may be neglected and must be systematically sought after. We report upon a SIDS death case of a four and a half month-old that occurred during his sleep. Following the absence of an evident cause of death a scientific autopsy was performed. The histological examination of pulmonary tissue revealed broncolitic lesions associated with numerous micro-abscesses. The post mortem microbiological analyses revealed evidence of an infection by the respiratory syncytial virus complicated by a bacterial infection due to Haemophilus influenzae. The case underlines the necessity of a multidisciplinary approach to researching SIDS, involving both clinicians and biologists, in order to determine the causes of these deaths.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de bactériologie, CHU de Reims, France.
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Limelette
authors.forename: Camille
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Boulagnon
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Terrade
authors.forename: Yohan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: N'guyen
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Guillard
authors.forename: Laurent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Andréoletti
authors.forename: Roselyne
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Garnotel
authors.forename: Béatrice
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Digeon
authors.forename: Christophe
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: De Champs
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fornes
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Lévêque
mesh_terms: D001344:Autopsy / Q000379:methods; D001990:Bronchiolitis, Viral / Q000150:complications; D002423:Cause of Death; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006192:Haemophilus Infections / Q000150:complications; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D033183:Interdisciplinary Communication; D008297:Male; D018357:Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections / Q000150:complications; D013398:Sudden Infant Death / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology
keywords: Haemophilus influenzae; autopsy; histological examination; multidisciplinary approach; respiratory syncytial virus; sudden infant death syndrome