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Correction
for Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect,
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PEDIATRICS Vol. 108 No. 3 September 2001, pp. 812
AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS:
Addendum: Distinguishing Sudden Infant Death Syndrome From
Child Abuse Fatalities
In the February 2001 issue of
Pediatrics (2001;107:437-441), the American Academy of
Pediatrics (AAP) Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect issued an update
of the AAP policy statement "Distinguishing Sudden Infant Death
Syndrome From Child Abuse Fatalities." This revised statement
provides pediatricians with information and guidelines to avoid
distressing or stigmatizing families of sudden infant death syndrome
(SIDS) victims while allowing accumulation of appropriate evidence in
potential cases of death by infanticide. The policy statement contains
10 specific recommendations for evaluation of sudden, unexpected infant
deaths, including "examination of the dead infant at a hospital
emergency department by a child maltreatment specialist."
In response to this policy statement, the executive committee of the
National Association of Medical Examiners (NAME) has pointed out that
"medical examiners and coroners have the sole legal authority to
investigate deaths that are sudden, unexpected, unexplained, and
potentially due to external causes such as injury." They went on to
indicate that "examination or manipulation of the deceased body by
child maltreatment experts without proper statutory authority or family
permission may constitute a tort or be a violation of criminal law."
On the basis of these valid concerns, this specific recommendation is
hereby rescinded. In its place, the following recommendation should be
inserted: "appropriate utilization of available medical specialists
by medical examiners and coroners (eg, pediatrician, pediatric
pathologist, radiologist, pediatric neuropathologist, etc)." NAME and
the AAP Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect have agreed to collaborate
on any future revisions of this policy statement.
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FOOTNOTES |
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The recommendations in this statement do not indicate an exclusive course of treatment or serve as a standard of medical care. Variations, taking into account individual circumstances, may be appropriate.
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ABBREVIATIONS |
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AAP, American Academy of Pediatrics; SIDS, sudden infant death syndrome; NAME, National Association of Medical Examiners.
Pediatrics (ISSN 0031 4005). Copyright ©2001 by the American Academy of Pediatrics
The following policy statement is a revision:
- Distinguishing Sudden Infant Death Syndrome From Child Abuse Fatalities
- American Academy of Pediatrics, Kent P. Hymel, and the Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect, and National Association of Medical Examiners
Pediatrics 2006 118: 421-427.[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
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  J. Knapp, D. Mulligan-Smith, and and the Committee on Pediatric Emergency Medicine Death of a Child in the Emergency Department Pediatrics, May 1, 2005; 115(5): 1432 - 1437. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
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