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The rate of sudden unexpected infant deaths (SUID) increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a potential link to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) hospitalizations, according to a national study.

Compared with the prepandemic period of March 2018 to December 2019, the risk of SUID increased by a relative 6% during the pandemic, reported Catharine Paules, MD, of Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania, and colleagues in JAMA Network Open.

Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) cases also increased by 10% in 2021 over the prepandemic period, with a significant intensity ratio. The greatest increases occurred in July 2021 and August 2021.

SUID is defined as sudden death of a child younger than 1 year of age where the cause of death is not clear prior to investigation. SIDS is an infant death that occurs during sleep and remains unexplained even after postmortem investigation. SIDS comprises more than one-third of SUID cases, while SUID also includes accidental suffocation in a sleeping environment and other deaths from unknown causes.

Notably, seasonal shifts in RSV hospitalizations during 2021 correlated with monthly changes in SUID in that same year, Paules and colleagues wrote. Head over to MedPage Today to read more about it.