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Evidence summaries

Advice to Avoid Prone Sleeping in the Prevention of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (Sids)

Campaigns delivering advice to avoid prone sleeping appear to reduce the incidence of SIDS. Level of evidence: "B"

A topic in Clinical Evidence 1 summarizes the results of one non-systematic review including 3 observational studies, and 12 additional observational studies. The review and additional studies report eight campaigns that delivered advice to avoid prone positioning alone, and seven campaigns that provided advice to avoid a combination of risk factors, including prone positioning. The review and all studies found that the incidence of SIDS was about halved after the campaigns.

Comment: The quality of evidence is upgraded by strong association.

    References

    • Creery D, Mikrogianakis A. What are the effects of interventions to reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome? Clinical Evidence 2004;12:546-555.

Primary/Secondary Keywords