Sudden infant death syndrome in Pelotas from 2006 to 2013: a descriptive analysis

Abstract

The Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) ranks the eighth position as a cause of lost potential years of life and the first positions as a cause of post-neonatal infant mortality in developed countries. The present study aims to investigate the socio-epidemiological characteristics of children who died due to SIDS in the city of Pelotas. Observational, retrospective, descriptive study based on data from the Municipal Department of Health collected through the application of Deaths research Sheets according to standards from the Health Ministry of all cases of SIDS between 2006 and 2013 in Pelotas, RS. There were 37 registered deaths in the period, which represents a mortality coefficient by SIDS of 1.5 per thousand. The average of maternal age was 23,5 years (dp=5.2), 29 (78%) were smokers and 23 (62%) exclusively breastfed until the date of the death, 28 (76%) had full-term babies. Amongst the 37 cases, 16 (43%) died at less than one month old, 26 (70%) were sleeping with their parents and 23 (61%) in lateral decubitus, while only 2 (5%) in prone position and 16 (43%) of the SIDS cases occurred during the winter. The present study is the only with such sample (37 cases) of SIDS in the city of Pelotas, which presents a mortality coefficient for this pathology similar to the highest ones found in the literature. Thus, public policies which aim at SIDS in Pelotas are necessary.