Fetal hemoglobin and sudden infant death syndrome.

Chronic hypoxemia has been suggested as an unrecognized condition that may result in sudden infant death syndrome. Fetal hemoglobin has been shown to be increased in infants suffering from chronic hypoxemia. We examined fetal hemoglobin levels in 54 cases of sudden infant death syndrome, 17 infants dying of other causes, and 22 live, healthy control infants. Fetal hemoglobin in infants with sudden infant death syndrome was found to be elevated when compared with our control infants as well as when compared with literature-based normal values. These findings indicate that fetal hemoglobin measurements may be a valuable aid in identifying cases of sudden infant death syndrome at autopsy and supports the hypothesis that this group of victims of sudden infant death syndrome are not normal before death but have an underlying condition resulting in chronic hypoxemia.