Abstract

The characteristics of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) in the French region of Languedoc-Roussillon from 2003–2008 were examined in a retrospective study of two groups classified as unexplained sudden unexpected death in infancy (SUDI) (SIDS, n = 27) or explained SUDI (n = 22). The interval between the time the baby was last observed alive (time of last feed) and the discovery of death was evaluated. In SIDS, 67% (18/27) of deaths were discovered during the day (09:00–21:00 h) mostly within 4 h after feeding (66%). In explained SUDI, 68.2% of deaths were discovered at night and time intervals between the last feed and discovery of death were longer (mean 7.1 h, p<0.01). Most SIDS deaths were discovered during the day and explained SUDI discovered at night. Variations in time between the last feed and discovery of death in the two groups may result from differences in parental attentiveness during the day and at night.