Ocular Findings in Pediatric Deaths Under 2 Years of Age (1994–2004)

Abstract: Our purpose is to highlight novel ocular findings of 102 forensic pediatric cases under 2 years of age who die suddenly. Forensic information, grossing, and microscopic eye protocol was followed. The most common diagnosis was Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) (57/102). Novel cytoid bodies were present in the retina of 72/102 cases and they were located predominantly 90% (65/72) at the anterior part of the retina (p < 0.001). Of the SIDS cases, 85% (47/57) showed the presence of cytoid bodies, and among all diagnosis, SIDS was the most associated with cytoid bodies (p = 0.003). A second observation was extramedullary hematopoiesis (EMH) identified in 35/102 cases and 22 of the 57 SIDS cases. The most frequent EMH location was the choroids (29/35). This study is the first to demonstrate the presence of cytoid bodies and extramedullary hematopoiesis in the retinas of SIDS cases and children who die suddenly from other causes.

Ocular Findings in Pediatric Deaths Under 2 Years of Age (1994–2004) Journal Articles