A NECROPSY STUDY OF DISTRIBUTION OF PETECHIAE IN NON-SUDDEN INFANT DEATH SYNDROME

  • 1 January 1984
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 108  (1) , 75-76
Abstract
Distribution of visceral petechiae in patients whose deaths were caused by upper airway obstruction and disorders other than sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) has not been systematically studied. Clinical and necropsy records and microscopic slides of 50 such cases were retrospectively reviewed. In cases in which the cause of death could reasonably be ascribed to lethal upper airway occlusion, petechiae were found only in thoracic viscera. When death was apparently not preceded by terminal changes in intrathoracic pressure, petechiae were found in viscera above and below the diaphragm. Apparently, intrathoracic petechiae occur as a consequence of pressure changes within the chest. Apparently, the terminal mechanism in SIDS is upper airway obstruction.

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