Sudden infant and perinatal unexplained death: are we moving forward yet?

Autonomic nervous system and cardiac conducting system dysfunctions have been proposed to be implied in the pathogenesis of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). However, most clinicians and even pathologists lack experience with detailed examination of the brainstem and cardiac conducting system and may not recognize lesions within those systems that potentially could be crucial factors in the sudden unexpected perinatal and infant death. Recent anatomical, pathological, and bacteriological studies in SIDS confirm that the multidisciplinary approach provides the best approach to the challenging problems of SIDS and sudden unexplained perinatal death.