This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow P3Rs: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when P3Rs are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow E-mail this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My File Cabinet
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via CrossRef
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Drago, D. A.
Right arrow Articles by Dannenberg, A. L.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Drago, D. A.
Right arrow Articles by Dannenberg, A. L.
Related Collections
Right arrow Office Practice

PEDIATRICS Vol. 103 No. 5 May 1999, p. e59

ELECTRONIC ARTICLE:
Infant Mechanical Suffocation Deaths in the United States, 1980-1997

Received Sep 3, 1998; accepted Dec 14, 1998.

Dorothy A. Drago and Andrew L. DannenbergDagger

From the Dagger  Center for Injury Research and Policy, Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland.

Purpose.  To document specific patterns and products associated with mechanical suffocation among infants younger than 13 months of age for the period 1980 to 1997.

Methodology.  A total 2178 case summaries from the US Consumer Product Safety Commission's Death Certificate File were reviewed. A computerized database was created for information about the infants, products, and patterns of suffocation. The relationships among products, patterns, and age groups were analyzed by chi 2. Thirty-eight investigations conducted on a subset of cases involving cribs were reviewed for details on crib age, structural integrity, and compliance with the federal crib regulation. Mortality rates were calculated based on the US population younger than 1 year old.

Results.  The most frequent causes of suffocation were 1) wedging between a bed or mattress and a wall and 2) oronasal obstruction by plastic bag. Patterns of suffocation were significantly related to age group, but not to sex. Pattern-specific mortality rates comparing three time frames for the the 16-year period from 1980 to 1995 showed continued increases for overlain and oronasal obstruction; an increase followed by a plateau for wedging, a decrease for hanging, and no substantial change for entrapment with suspension.

Conclusions.  Suffocation hazards presented by beds, bedding, pillows, and plastic bags continue to be underrecognized by parents and caregivers. Bed-sharing and use of adult beds for infants should be discouraged. Only complying cribs should be used and maintained properly to ensure structural integrity. Suffocation deaths involving plastics should be investigated to determine the specific material characteristics and use patterns to design more effective interventions than selective labeling.  Key words:  suffocation, infants, beds, cribs, co-sleeping.




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Am J EpidemiolHome page
M. O. Hearst, J. M. Oakes, and P. J. Johnson
The Effect of Racial Residential Segregation on Black Infant Mortality
Am. J. Epidemiol., October 28, 2008; (2008) kwn291v1.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Arch Pediatr Adolesc MedHome page
V. Simard, T. A. Nielsen, R. E. Tremblay, M. Boivin, and J. Y. Montplaisir
Longitudinal Study of Preschool Sleep Disturbance: The Predictive Role of Maladaptive Parental Behaviors, Early Sleep Problems, and Child/Mother Psychological Factors
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med, April 1, 2008; 162(4): 360 - 367.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Arch Pediatr Adolesc MedHome page
M. H. Malloy and D. H. Freeman
Age at Death, Season, and Day of Death as Indicators of the Effect of the Back to Sleep Program on Sudden Infant Death Syndrome in the United States, 1992-1999
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med, April 1, 2004; 158(4): 359 - 365.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J Hum LactHome page
M. J. Heinig
Bed Sharing and Infant Mortality: Guilt by Association?
J Hum Lact, August 1, 2000; 16(3): 189 - 191.
[PDF]

Home page
 PediatricsHome page
M. O'Hara, R. Harruff, J. E. Smialek, D. R. Fowler;, D. A. Drago;, J. J. McKenna, L. M. Gartner;, D. A. Drago;, D. Servan-Schreiber;, and D. A. Drago
Sleep Location and Suffocation: How Good Is the Evidence?
Pediatrics, April 1, 2000; 105(4): 915a - 920.
[Full Text]