Which condition is sudden and unexplained death of an apparently healthy infant?

Which condition is sudden and unexplained death of an apparently healthy infant?

• A. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)
• B. TB
• C. URI
• D. Influenza

Answer: (A)

Sudden infant death syndrome is defined as the sudden, unexpected death of an apparently healthy infant, usually during sleep, in which no cause is found after thorough investigation (autopsy, death scene investigation, and clinical history). This description fits SIDS best because it involves a death that appears unexplained despite best efforts to identify a cause. It typically affects infants under one year, most often around 2–4 months, and is a diagnosis of exclusion. The other options describe illnesses with identifiable causes and symptoms (tuberculosis, upper respiratory infections, influenza), so they don’t match the scenario of an apparently healthy infant dying suddenly without an explained reason.

Sudden infant death syndrome is defined as the sudden, unexpected death of an apparently healthy infant, usually during sleep, in which no cause is found after thorough investigation (autopsy, death scene investigation, and clinical history). This description fits SIDS best because it involves a death that appears unexplained despite best efforts to identify a cause. It typically affects infants under one year, most often around 2–4 months, and is a diagnosis of exclusion.

The other options describe illnesses with identifiable causes and symptoms (tuberculosis, upper respiratory infections, influenza), so they don’t match the scenario of an apparently healthy infant dying suddenly without an explained reason.