Pathology of the sudden infant death syndrome in Western Australia: a review of 50 cases.

Fifty cases of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) have been selected randomly from a group of 511 such cases studied since 1973. In addition, thiamine levels from 12,613 babies screened during the study period are also reviewed in relation to SIDS deaths. Despite exhaustive post-mortem analysis, few indications to causation are apparent. When compared with the control group, a five-fold increase in mean thiamine levels was noted in SIDS victims. However, the interpretation of thiamine screening data requires further detailed investigation. The results of this study suggest the value of adoption of a uniform basic protocol for the examination of SIDS and non-SIDS babies, along with the establishment of a central register of these deaths.