Sudden Natural Deaths in Infancy and Childhood

Abstract

Nontraumatic sudden and unexpected death in the young is an uncommon event, but it is one that has tremendous impact on families and communities. Autopsy assessments may be difficult, as many entities are rare and have quite subtle manifestations. In the following chapter, a range of lethal (mostly) natural diseases that may be encountered in pediatric forensic practice are described involving central nervous system, respiratory, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, hematopoetic, genitourinary, infectious, endocrine, metabolic, and miscellaneous conditions, the latter including connective tissue and chromosomal disorders. These are listed in Table 1.1. The issue of the “negative autopsy” is also discussed with the potential role of genetic screening. Given the broad nature of the subject matter, the chapter is not intended to be exhaustive, but covers a range of conditions that should be considered during the process of the postmortem examination process.