Understanding three approaches to reporting sudden unexpected infant death in the USA

Alexa B Erck Lambert; Sharyn Parks; Kristin Bergman; Carri Cottengim; Andrew Woster; Esther Shaw; Hongyan Ma; Rachel Heitmann; Tiffany Riehle-Colarusso; Carrie Shapiro-Mendoza

doi:10.1136/ip-2023-044959

Understanding three approaches to reporting sudden unexpected infant death in the USA

Inj Prev. 2024 Apr 4:ip-2023-044959. doi: 10.1136/ip-2023-044959. Online ahead of print.

Affiliations

¹ Division of Reproductive Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA xwp5@cdc.gov.
² Division of Reproductive Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
³ Department of Maternal and Child Health, Gillings School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
⁴ Violence and Injury Prevention, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Denver, Colorado, USA.
⁵ Center for Child and Family Health, Michigan Public Health Institute, Okemos, Michigan, USA.
⁶ Division of Family Health and Wellness, Tennessee Department of Health, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.
⁷ Injury Prevention and Detection, Tennessee Department of Health, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.

PMID: 38575302
DOI: 10.1136/ip-2023-044959

Abstract

Introduction: In the USA each year, there are approximately 3400 sudden unexpected infant (<1 year of age) deaths (SUID) which occur without an obvious cause before an investigation. SUID includes the causes of death (COD) undetermined/unknown, sleep-related suffocation/asphyxia and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS); these are often called SUID subtypes. Three common ways SUID subtypes are grouped (SUID subtype groups) include International Classification of Diseases (ICD) Codes, SUID Case Registry Categories or Child Death Review (CDR)-Assigned Causes. These groups are often used to monitor SUID trends and characteristics at the local, state and national levels. We describe and compare the characteristics of these three SUID subtype groups.

Discussion: SUID subtype groups are distinct and not directly interchangeable. They vary in purpose, strengths, limitations, uses, history, data years available, population coverage, assigning entity, guidance documentation and information available to assign subtypes.

Conclusion: Making informed decisions about which SUID subtype group to use is important for reporting statistics, increasing knowledge of SUID epidemiology and informing prevention strategies.

Keywords: Coding Systems; Epidemiology; Public Health; Surveillance; Terminology.