Sudden infant death syndrome: a case report in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is an idiopathic conditionthat affects seemingly healthy infants under one year ofage, whose death remains unexplained after the performanceof a complete postmortem examination, toxicological analyses,genetic testing, death scene investigation, and a reviewof the mother’s and infant’s medical history. Detailed epidemiological,pathological, and forensic information has beenreported regarding SIDS from the developed countries. However,SIDS information from developing countries is eitherwidely scattered or non-existent. This is the first publishedcase report of SIDS from the country of Bosnia and Herzegovina.A previously healthy 3 months old, white male infantwas found dead after being placed to sleep in the prone position.The features of this case report closely parallel the classicalfeatures of SIDS cited in the world literature. The infantwas healthy, male, between the ages of 2-12 months, discoveredin the prone position and had a negative postmorteminvestigation. It is important for developing countries such asBosnia and Herzegovina to conduct detailed forensic investigationsof deaths from SIDS and provide epidemiological,pathological, and circumstances of that information to theworld’s collective knowledge.