Accidentele asfyxie bij jonge kinderen in de slaapomgeving

Unsafe sleeping accommodations include a potentially lethal threat for babies and infants. The risk of accidental asphyxia increases significantly when infants are put to sleep in unsuitable places or manners, for example on a cushion/ couch or cosleeping with their parents. Even furniture especially equipped and designed for babies, such as cribs or bassinets, may be dangerous when showing defects or being used incorrectly. The diagnosis of accidental asphyxia is not easy and often mistaken for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Thus, a thorough examination of every sudden and unexpected infant death (SUID) remains essential to rule out other causes of sudden death such as wedging, smoring, suffocation, hanging and chest compression. If possible, the conclusions of autopsy, medical history and death scene examination, should be completed with a reconstruction at the scene. Only a detailed expert examination can reconstruct the circumstances of death, leading to an appropriate diagnosis. As actually not all potentially dangerous situations have yet been identified, nor commonly known by the public, some infants still die of accidental asphyxia. In general, these are often avoidable accidents. Therefore, the public should be made aware of the risk of accidental asphyxia and of the practical preventive measures which can be taken.

Publication year:2011