Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36104144›Full record

ArticleBMJ open2022

Comparing asphyxia and unexplained causes of death: a retrospective cohort analysis of sleep-related infant death cases from a state child fatality review programme.

Megan Macdonald, Daniel Thompson, Robin Perry, Robert Brooks

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ open, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
0.1field-weighted citation impact, top 60% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed, 2 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Megan MacdonaldDivision of Children's Medical Services, Florida Department of Health, Tallahassee, Florida, USA megan.macdonald@flhealth.gov.ORCID 0000-0002-8842-2974
Daniel ThompsonIndependent Statistical Consultant, Tallahassee, Florida, USA.
Robin PerrySocial Work, Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, Tallahassee, Florida, USA.
Robert BrooksDivision of Children's Medical Services, Florida Department of Health, Tallahassee, Florida, USA.
Florida Department of Health · USFlorida Agricultural and Mechanical University · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesTo examine the characteristics and circumstances of infants who died while sleeping or in a sleep environment and compare deaths classified as either unintentional asphyxia or an unexplained cause.

designA retrospective cohort study.

settingData were extracted from the National Fatality Review Case Reporting System and Florida Vital Statistics databases.

participantsData on 778 sleep-related infant deaths occurring from 2014 to 2018 in Florida were analysed. PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURE: Cause of death classification as unintentional asphyxia or unexplained.

resultsOverall, 36% (n=276) of sleep-related infant deaths in this study sample were classified as resulting from an unexplained cause compared with unintentional asphyxia. Most infants were reported to be in an adult bed (60%; n=464) and sharing a sleep surface with a person or animal (60%; n=468); less than half (44%; n=343) were reportedly placed to sleep on their back. After controlling for the influence of other independent variables, female sex (adjusted risk ratio: 1.36; 95% CI 1.06 to 1.74) and fully obstructed airway condition (adjusted risk ratio: 0.30; 95% CI 0.18 to 0.50) were associated with an unexplained cause of death.

conclusionsThe results of this analysis indicate that sleep environment hazards remain prevalent among infants who die suddenly and unexpectedly, regardless of the cause of death determination. While significant differences were observed for some factors, in many others the distributions of both demographic and incident characteristics were similar between unexplained deaths and those resulting from asphyxia. The results of this study support growing evidence that unsafe sleep environments contribute to all forms of sudden unexpected infant death, underscoring the need for standardising cause of death determination practices and promoting consistent, high-quality forensic investigations to accurately explain, monitor and prevent these deaths.

Indexed as

AsphyxiaSudden Infant DeathCause of DeathFemaleHumansRetrospective StudiesSleepCot deathEPIDEMIOLOGYPUBLIC HEALTH

Identifiers

PMID36104144
PMCPMC9476159
OpenAlexW4295681542

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.