Understanding three approaches to reporting sudden unexpected infant death in the USA.

INTRODUCTION: In the USA each year, there are approximately 3400 sudden unexpected infant (<1 year of age) deaths (SUID) which occur without an obvious cause before an investigation. SUID includes the causes of death (COD) undetermined/unknown, sleep-related suffocation/asphyxia and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS); these are often called SUID subtypes. Three common ways SUID subtypes are grouped (SUID subtype groups) include International Classification of Diseases (ICD) Codes, SUID Case Registry Categories or Child Death Review (CDR)-Assigned Causes. These groups are often used to monitor SUID trends and characteristics at the local, state and national levels. We describe and compare the characteristics of these three SUID subtype groups.

DISCUSSION: SUID subtype groups are distinct and not directly interchangeable. They vary in purpose, strengths, limitations, uses, history, data years available, population coverage, assigning entity, guidance documentation and information available to assign subtypes.

CONCLUSION: Making informed decisions about which SUID subtype group to use is important for reporting statistics, increasing knowledge of SUID epidemiology and informing prevention strategies.