Analysis of the causes of death in children under one year of age in the material of the Department of Forensic Medicine at the Jagiellonian University Medical College in Kraków, with particular emphasis on the issue of SIDS.

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the incidence of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) in the expert material of the Department of Forensic Medicine at the Jagiellonian University Medical College in Kraków between 2000 and 2024, and to analyze the most common causes of death in children under one year of age. Materials and Methods: Autopsy reports from the Department of Forensic Medicine at the Jagiellonian University Medical College in Kraków from the years 2000 to 2024 were analyzed. Information was collected and examined for 219 children aged 0-12 months, including demographic data - age and sex, external and internal examination findings, and the location where the bodies were discovered. The data were supplemented using available medical records, family interviews, or police notes from the scene. Additional analyses included toxicological, histopathological, and imaging studies, as well as photographic documentation, when available. Results and Conclusions: Fourteen cases were classified as Sudden Unexpected Infant Death (SUID), accounting for 6.4% of the 219 autopsies performed. During the study period, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) was diagnosed in only seven cases, representing 3.2% of the examined group - two among newborns and five among infants. All seven SIDS cases occurred in children under four months of age. The most common cause of death in children under one year of age was systemic infection, identified in 104 cases. In 51 cases, a diagnosis of pneumonia was made, and in 9 cases - pneumonia accompanied by myocarditis. Of all autopsies performed on children under one year of age, 77 (35.2%) concerned newborns.