Virological analysis in the diagnosis of sudden children death: A medico-legal approach

The medico-legal investigation of sudden, unexpected and/or unexplained infant deaths in South Africa: where are we—and where are we going?

“…Other publications stress the value of bacteriology and show that even five days' post mortem positive blood cultures reveal the organism that caused death [9]. Screening investigations for virology seem to be more reliable than for bacteriology, since post mortem contamination does not influence the results [10].…”

Detection of human herpesvirus-6, Epstein-Barr virus and cytomegalovirus in formalin-fixed tissues from sudden infant death: A study with quantitative real-time PCR

“…Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), the most common cause of post-neonatal infant mortality in the developed world [1], is a disorder of unknown etiology [2]. Numerous possible mechanisms have been involved to explain this syndrome, including microbiological and immunological theories [3].…”

“…For this reason, the detection of viruses in tissues could provide useful data to analyse the role of viruses in the context of sudden deaths in early childhood. Molecular-based testing, as the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay, is now widely www.elsevier.com/locate/forsciint accepted and recognised as the new ''gold standard'' for the diagnosis of many infectious agents [1,10]. These molecular technologies have enabled laboratories to identify infectious agents that may not have been considered in the original diagnoses.…”

Natural Causes of Sudden Death

“…Interstitial pneumonia, as caused by viruses, is defined histologically, but in its early stages the changes can be nonspecific; detection of the virus would therefore be required to verify the diagnosis (Bajanowski et al 2003;Fernández-Rodríguez et al 2006). In viral pneumonia, the lungs appear bulky, and may be hyperaemic (overfilled with blood).…”