© 2002 Archives of Disease in Childhood
BOOK REVIEW
Sudden infant death syndrome: problems, progress and possibilities
Edited by R W Byard, H F Krous. Arnold Medical Press, 2001. Pp353. ISBN 0 340 75917 8
As an internationally recognised disease classification, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is unique in that the diagnosis is reached by exclusion, by failing to demonstrate an adequate cause of death. By definition it is imprecise, the diagnosis of SIDS depends on the thoroughness of the post mortem examination, the extent of detail given in the clinical history and the meticulous nature with which the death scene investigation is carried out. Even if these conditions are satisfied to some chosen specification, this is not an endpoint but a rather a beginning, as we are still left with the question of "why did these babies die?"
The tragedy of SIDS is not a modern phenomenon but was only christened a syndrome 40 years ago and, after extensive research, the possibility of finding a collection of symptoms and signs manifesting as a single cause appears extremely unlikely. Some experts suggest a triple risk
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